Revenant Assassin: Genesis
by RockinGamer
Summary: Aero Kalo is a street-thief faunus that lives in Atlas until a chance event changes his life and has him head down the path of becoming an assassin. Part 1 of the RWBY: Revenant Assassin Trilogy.
1. Another Day in Atlas

Chapter 1

A faunus in his mid-40's walked forward, gravel crunching underneath his feet as he entered the graveyard. He wore jeans, black boots, a white shirt and an unzipped blue jacket and had short hair that was black with hints of gray throughout it. His bat ears poked out from under his hair, matching the color of his hair and turning at different sounds as he looked at the tombstones. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, breathing in the fresh summer air as he finally stopped.

The tombstone he looked down at was simple: a plaque laying on the ground displaying the name of an old friend. He smiled to himself as he sat down in front of the tombstone with a grunt, making sure not to sit over the body itself that was six feet under. He breathed slowly and closed his eyes as memories came back to him.

"Been far too long," he said in a gentle voice as he placed his hands on his knees, "Too long. But hey, that's what happens, you know? Time to reminisce, just like old times… Hate to say it, but I think this will be the last time."

The faunus sat there and breathed slowly, running a hand over his trimmed facial hair.

"Yeah, it'll be the last time, which I hope you understand. I haven't told you everything, have I? Time to change that."

* * *

 _30 years ago_

The young faunus leaned against the wall of a shop, looking around casually with his gold colored eyes. He wore a white shirt and matching hoodie with a grey zipper that came up diagonally across his 14-year-old chest. He wore jeans and brown sneakers along with a black cadet hat that hid his short cut black hair with a blue streak down the right side and small bat ears that poked up from beneath his hair. The hood was pulled up, resting on the brim of his cap as he continued to look around. The street he was on was occupied by people walking around either running errands, buying groceries or taking in the sights. The capital city of Atlas had always brought in a lot of people from around Remnant because of its constant nice climate and hi-tech buildings that dominated the landscape. He grinned as he stood up straight and followed a woman on her scroll.

"Yeah, I know, but hey, sometimes you gotta be brutally honest with guys," she said to someone as he followed her closely. He waited until both of them were at a crosswalk surrounded by a few other people. As soon as everyone could walk, he quickly reached and grabbed her wallet, which rested in her back pocket. She turned around startled and smacked a man, accusing him of touching her butt as Aero walked away casually. He ducked into an ally and pulled all the Lien cards out of the wallet then throwing it to the ground. He grinned to himself, counting the lien as he turned to his right to a friend.

"Aero!" his friend yelled. Aero Kalo smiled at his older friend, who walked over to him.

"Marcus, what's up man?" Aero said to his slim friend. Marcus was sixteen years of age and a faunus like Aero, but his physical trait, sharp teeth, was usually hidden, unlike the small whiskers that sprouted near his nose. Marcus looked at Aero with green eyes and curly dark blonde hair. He was wearing a black and yellow hoodie along with jeans and boots, covering his pale skin that contrasted Aero's white skin.

"Nothing much man, what brings you here?"

"A score," Aero said, holding up the Lien cards, making his friend nod his head.

"Nice dude. Gonna go spend it?"

"Can't, need to save it."

"Sounds good man, your mom needs it?" Marcus asked. Aero nodded his head as he counted the Lien cards.

"Yeah, she needs 600 and this is 800," Aero replied.

"Gonna be set for a little while."

"A little while. I'm really hoping to get a job."

"Whoa, watch out, Aero Kalo, trying to move up in life. You know no one is going to hire your young ass, especially a young faunus."

"Hey man, they do. As long as I show that I'm hard working-"

"Which you're not."

"I'll get a job smartass," Aero said, "What about you? Any scores?"

"Nah, I've been too busy."

"With what?"

"Just helping my parents take care of my aunt, she's still sick."

"Sorry to hear man."

"It's good, parents say she'll get better. She said she'll repay me by getting me into a university," Marcus replied with a hint of hope, "Hope she does. Anyway, I was on my way to get her medicine. Wanna come?"

"I'm good man, I better get home, my mom wanted to do some 'bonding' stuff," Aero replied causally and with disinterest. The two friends said their goodbyes, fist bumped and walked off in opposite directions once they walked back onto the crosswalk Aero was walking on moments before. Aero watched his friend go and smiled to himself, thinking about his only friend on the streets as he walked back to his little apartment.

Marcus had saved Aero a year and a half ago from a man that he stole from. Aero had misjudged his target, who felt him snatch the wallet. The larger man caught him and was about to beat Aero, yet Marcus came in to save them and had since been good friends. Both had grown up on the streets not in the best living conditions, but good enough. Marcus's parents were unemployed and both were lion faunus' and his aunt was the owner of ranch that her husband was running while she got treatment for her cancer.

He continued to walk out of the shopping distract of Atlas and down further to the Gaia apartments 20 minutes away. He walked up three flights to apartment 319, unlocking and opening the door. He entered a small apartment with four rooms: two bedrooms, a bathroom and a large open room that was the kitchen, living room and dining room all in one. The light blue walls went with the orange couch and light brown wooden floors. The large room he walked into had the couch against the wall and the TV six feet from it. Behind it was the cooking area, which had cabinets, a stove, sink and refrigerator. To the left next of the kitchen was a small wooden table and two chairs where Aero and his mom sat on most nights. His mother Alexis Kalo was working at a factory where they processed freshly mined Dust. She had been working there for two years, hoping to save enough for Aero to get into school, seeing that every major high school required students to take a test and stay on campus, costing a good amount of money.

Aero sighed to himself, resigning himself to the fact that he wouldn't be attending one of those schools and needed to focus on getting a job. He watched a show on TV until he saw the door open and close. He smiled at the woman, who stood about 5 foot 10 and was wearing a dirty brown apron, jeans and an orange shirt that matched her eyes along with work boots, dirt covering her black hair and bat ears as she walked to the kitchen. In her right hand was a helmet with a light and in the left a lunch tin she carried around.

"Hey mom," Aero said.

"Hey," Alexis replied, sighing and laying on the couch, her legs laying on his sons lap. Aero chuckled and pushed them off, scooting down so his mother had room to stretch.

"Work sucked?"

"Of course," Alexis replied with her sweet voice and a light chuckle. Aero nodded his head as he took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, grazing his bat ears.

"Still hiding it huh?"

"You know how it is mom," Aero said, looking at his mother, who nodded sadly. Alexis was a bat faunus while Aero's father, Robert, was a human. Alexis and Robert had had a one night stand together after meeting at a club in Atlas. They had stayed together for a few weeks until Alexis told Robert she was pregnant, who immediately left, not wanting to care for a child, especially a faunus child.

"Plans for the evening?"

"You know I don't have any. What's up?"

"Ah nothing. Wanna walk around town for a little after dinner?"

"Sounds good," Aero said as he got up and walked to his room to be alone. He had a small bed, nightstand and lamp with a dresser. The blue painted walls were either chipped or peeling, a constant reminder of their economic situation as Aero laid on his bed. He closed his eyes and waited for his mom to call him out for dinner, which was light. The two ate and then walked to the shopping center, a large fountain the focal point of paved roads, streets vendors, shoppers and tourists.

"So, I'm gonna start looking for a job," Aero said casually to his mom, who looked down at him.

"Aero."

"What?"

"We discussed this dear. You need an education."

"I know the basics mom and that's all I need. We need more money."

"No one is going to hire a fourteen year old," his mom said with a small smile, trying to alleviate some tension. His mom had changed clothes into jeans, black shoes, a dark yellow shirt and a brown jacket while Aero spotted the same ensemble.

"You never know, maybe a street vendor could use me."

"Maybe, but that's not important Aero. I just need to set money aside-"

"Mom, you know that's not going to happen because of who we are," Aero said as they sat on a bench, "You get fucking shit pay as is that barely buys enough food for the two of us."

"Language."

"Sorry. But you know I'm right," Aero said, the lien jostling gently in his hoodie pocket because of his hand.

"I know sweetie but things will get better."

"And if they don't?"

"They will," Alexis said, wrapping an arm around her son's shoulder and squeezing it tightly. Aero nodded his head as he took the lien cards out.

"I know you said I shouldn't-"

"Aero…" Alexis said as she took the cards and looked at them, "How?"

"Stole them," he replied, earning a sigh from his mother, who shook her head.

"Of course you did… what the hell did I tell you about that?"

"To stop."

"And you didn't listen. You're grounded."

"From what? Walking in the city?"

"Yes, exactly that," Alexis said in a harsher tone. Aero sighed and shook his head, looking at the fountain. People stared at them here and there but mostly ignored them as Alexis set the cards down on the bench.

"Why?"

"Because you need the financial help. And I thought, well, with my quick hands, I can make a quick buck easily. Just gotta find the right person, wait and set the escape."

"No more, please Aero."

"Why mom?"

"Aero it's stealing and you know how certain people are when it comes to faunus'. Think about what would happen to you," she said. Aero tried to argue back but couldn't, words failing him as he and his mom continued to sit in silence. Finally, Alexis got up, Aero following suit and both walked back to the dilapidated apartment, leaving the lien cards on the bench. Aero immediately went to his room without a word to his mother, who watched him and shook her head. Aero plopped down onto his bed and sighed. He felt stuck, not knowing what to do, going over ideas in his head, trying to think of something to help his mom but couldn't think of anything. He shook his head, changed into pajamas and fell asleep while his mother figured out the finances on the small kitchen table under a small light.

The next morning Aero woke to silence. He shuffled out of his room to a note on the counter form his mother, reminding him to stay in because he was grounded. Aero sighed and got dressed, constantly looking at the door while the TV was on.

"Fuck this," Aero said. Instead of using the door, Aero opened the window, closed it behind him and made his way down the fire escape.

* * *

 **And a new journey begins. As I said, this first part of the trilogy is really focusing on Aero and how he grows into who he does in the second part, Specter. Also, sorry if this is a tad bit slow, I'm trying not to make it like that but it may come off like that, so I apologize if it does. Lastly, I wanted to do two chapters a week... but, I have only written this chapter and chapter two because I got a promotion at work and have been slammed because of said promotion. I hope to get a lot more done and I'll keep you guys updated, but for now it's a new chapter every Monday. Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and I hope to see you guys next Monday!**


	2. One More Score

Chapter 2

Aero looked around, taking in his unfamiliar surroundings, being on the outskirts of Atlas. Small shops and apartments stood near the street as cars drove by, barely any on the road considering the time of day. The sun hung high in the sky, a few white clouds hanging around it as Aero spotted a small shop and approached it. In the few hours after he had left his apartment, he had been turned down for multiple jobs, many citing his age and a couple referencing his faunus heritage.

Aero stopped and looked at the neon sign that hung above the doors of the shop. The place itself seemed a bit run down and looked like a small, family owned restaurant. The purple lettering spelled out 'Bobby's Diner and Dive', the purple contrasting the red and blue that decorated the outdoor walls.

Aero opened the glass doors and walked into a small area with checkboard flooring and red leather-seated booths with silver tables. Ahead of him was a bar with stools, where a large chef was cooking and two waitresses were talking with one another. Only a few people were in the restaurant and were either eating or chatting with someone. Aero walked forward and took a seat at the bar, looking around and taking the place in as a waitress approached.

"Hey little guy," she said as she handed Aero a glass of water, "Can I get you anything?" she asked. She was wearing jeans, a red buttoned shirt and a light blue apron that contrasted her brown hair.

"Um…"

"Are you lost?"

"No, I just have a question: are you guys hiring?"

"Sorry, we're not."

"Oh come on, really? I've been looking everywhere!" he exclaimed in frustration.

"I'm serious. And besides, you seem too young. How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen?" the chef asked in a gruff voice, stopping what he was doing and turning around to look at Aero. The chef was wearing a green apron, black chef pants, black shoes and an olive green chef shirt that contrasted his orange hair.

"What in the hell are you doing looking for a job at fourteen?" he asked.

"My mom needs help financially and the fact that she's a faunus means she works in one of the Dust mines. She get's shit pay and we can barely afford to live in our place," Aero said, taking a nervous sip from his glass as the chef looked down at him.

"Sorry to hear that lad. How much can you lift?"

"I have no clue whatsoever."

"Good penmanship?"

"Good enough."

"You're hired," the man said, shocking the waitresses and Aero as he extended his hand, "I'm Bobby, the owner."

"Aero… Aero Kalo," the young faunus said quietly as he shook Bobby's hand, still dumbfounded at what just happened.

"You best work hard lad and you better not ask for any days off anytime soon. Can you work morning or evenings?"

"Mornings are probably best."

"Be here tomorrow, eight sharp. If you're a minute late, you're fired, got it?"

"I got it sir," Aero said with a huge smile as the man patted his shoulder, "Why though?"

"At one time," Bobby said, leaning forward so that his brown eyes met Aero's, "I was in the same boat. My mom was unemployed and my dad worked at a joint like this. I was thirteen when I joined him and our paychecks barely got us by. I know that today's world isn't fair to your kind. Besides, I only have three people here, including me, so I could always use more help. Just come in tomorrow wearing whatever you have, I'll give ya an apron, okay?"

"Got it. Thanks Bobby."

"Anytime Aero, can't wait to see you work," he said with a smile as he watched the young faunus leave the diner hurriedly and happily.

"You don't need more help," one of the waitresses said to his left.

"With the little work you two do, I always need help," he said, laughing aloud to himself as the two waitresses shook their heads in disgust went back to tending to their customers.

* * *

The next morning and all throughout the next week, Aero did as Bobby asked, getting up early, getting dressed in casual clothing and running to the diner. He had told his mom about what had happened, and even though she was skeptical and upset he left the apartment, she was still happy that he had a job and more importantly was bringing in money. Aero didn't mind doing any of the tasks that Bobby asked him to do, from cleaning the grill to taking care of the bathrooms. Aero did the odd jobs, cleaned the dishes and waited on people when he could. His shift on that Saturday had just ended at 4 and he was heading home for the day when he saw Marcus in his usual attire.

"Marcus, seriously, how the hell do we keep meeting randomly?" he said as he slung his dirty apron over his shoulder.

"No idea dude. I see you have a job now," Marcus said with a smile as he walked alongside Aero.

"Fuck yeah dude, I mean, the pay is alright and I clean up shit you wouldn't believe, but it's awesome. How's your aunt?"

"She's recovering. Still not fully better, but close. Doc's said to give it a week and she should be okay."

"Nice to hear man," Aero said, patting his friends arm as they continued on, chatting about little things or bits of news they had heard about concerning the kingdom.

"You heard about this thief that's striking some places in Vacuo?"

"No, why, you aspiring to him now?" Aero asked.

"Nah, you could learn some things from him," Marcus retorted, Aero shaking his head as they stopped at a crosswalk waiting for cars to pass.

"What's his name?" Aero asked as they stood among a few other people.

"I think its Torchwick."

"Torchwick?" a bystander asked, "You guys talking about Roman Torchwick?"

"Yeah, you know him?" Aero asked.

"Heard a lot about him. Helluva thief from what I've heard," the man said as they crossed the street, "He's apparently been moving up from small jobs to heists."

"Doesn't sound too pleasant," Aero replied.

"He's not, but as long as he doesn't come around here, I don't care," the man said as he turned down a street and walked away. Aero and Marcus continued on until Marcus tapped on Aero's arm.

"Where are we going?"

"I thought I was following you."

"Oh, you were? Perfect," Marcus said as he pulled Aero along.

"What the hell are you getting me into?" Aero asked his friend.

"Well, you know how I buy knives for cheap then sell high?"

"Of course, hell, I helped with that for a couple of months last year, remember?"

"Good point. Anyway, I'm doing one last score then I'll probably just stick with stealing. So, I want you to be my wingman on the deal, got it?" Marcus asked as they turned down an alley.

"I don't have a choice since we're here, but sure, I got you," Aero replied as they walked out of the alley and down a street to a small plaza. A few people were standing around, a couple sitting at a table and enjoying drinks as Aero and Marcus found the seller almost instantly. He was the same height as Marcus but was a bit bulkier and was wearing slacks, tennis shoes and a red and yellow shirt with an D emblazed in the middle, all covered by a light red jacket that went against his olive skin.

"Donovan, what's up?" Marcus said as he and the man shook hands, Donovan's long green hair almost completely covering his eyes that stared at Marcus.

"Marcus the faunus, the fuck you want?" Donovan asked smoothly with an attitude that Marcus recoiled at.

"The same damn things man. Hope you don't mind, I brought Aero with me."

"Yeah, two faunus' together, great," Donovan said in a disgusting tone, earning a shaking head from Aero as the two began to talk. Aero stood to the side and waited, looking around him at other people, drowning out the conversation the two were having. Aero was enjoying the sights and sounds until he heard the conversation take a much different tone, making him perk his bat ears toward them.

"Dude, these are shit," Marcus said, looking over a blade as Donovan scoffed at his remark.

"The fuck you mean there shit? This is the damn good stuff."

"I can't do anything with this man, you need to step your game up," Marcus said, turning away from Donovan.

"Hold up you faunus son of a bitch," Donovan said with disdain. Marcus turned back around in time for Donovan to get in his face, "Don't tell me how the fuck to get shit done, got it?" Donovan whispered as Aero approached Marcus.

"Let it go man, come on," Aero said, tugging on Marcus's shirt, who shrugged off his friends hand.

"Hold on. No one calls me a son of a bitch when I'm telling the truth."

"What truth? Just go work in the mines with the rest of your kind," Donovan said, emphasizing the last word with disgust.

"Yeah, you hate my kind so much yet are willing to let me buy from you for the past couple of months."

"Because you're the only customer I have!"

"I wonder why?" Marcus said with a grin as Aero pulled him away from Donovan, who was fuming at Marcus's comments.

"Come on Marcus, leave him be, just get back to stealing or hell, I'll get you a job with Bobby," Aero said as they walked away.

"Hell, that'd be cool man," he said until he gasped in surprise. Aero took a step to the side as he looked and saw a hilt protruding from his friend's back. Aero screamed as Donovan quickly moved to him while Marcus fell to the ground, blooding trailing from the corners of his mouth. Donovan took out a long blade from his jacket and charged at Aero as people watched and yelled.

"Fucking die you faunus scum!" Donovan yelled as he stabbed with the blade. Aero side-stepped the attack, dropped his apron and tried to run. He suddenly felt a force on his back because Donovan tackled him to the ground. Aero felt a hard punch to his cheek as Donovan brought the blade up, staring at Aero as he grinned.

"One less faunus," he said sadistically as Aero quickly grabbed a blade from inside Donovan's jacket and stabbed him in the shoulder. Donovan yelled as rolled from underneath Donovan, who covered his wound. Aero stood up as Donovan tried again to attack but Aero dodged underneath the slash, cut Donovan's thigh then plunged the blade into Donovan's back multiple times. He let out a roar of pain at the stabs until he fell forward dead. Soon police and medics arrived, while Aero ran to Marcus to see if he could do anything. Aero turned his friends body over and saw his lifeless green eyes staring up at the slowly changing sky. Aero breathed harshly and cried, screaming as police pulled him from the body to allow medics to treat him. The police moved Aero to the inside of the back of a police car as they interviewed witnesses while an officer gave Aero a blanket and warm tea to calm him down.

"You okay son?" an officer asked as he patted Aero's back. The faunus shook his head and began to shake as the officer draped his arm around Aero's shoulders.

"It'll be okay, don't worry. You're not going to be charged with anything."

"That bastard k-killed my friend," Aero said quietly as the officer nodded his head and wrote down what Aero had said.

"Why were you guys here if you don't mind me asking?"

"Marcus w-wanted o-one more score… damn it M-Marcus," Aero said, more tears streaming down his cheeks as he placed a hand on his forehead. The officer nodded and patted Aero's back, looking up in time to see a tanned man clad in black pants, a silver suit and tie with piercing blue eyes approach the two.

"Sir this is a crime scene, you need to-"

"I need to speak to my son," the man said in a deep tone as Aero looked up at him, his vision blurred because of his crying. The officer left at the man's request, leaving the two alone.

"How are you feeling son?" the man asked, crouching on the ground and rubbing Aero's shoulder as he breathed calmly.

"Terrified, afraid, horrible," was all Aero could muster as the man nodded, his bald head barely gleaning under a street light.

"How did it feel?" he asked, confusing Aero.

"Feel?"

"To kill, how did it feel? Exciting? Exhilarating?"

"W-why would i-it feel like that?" Aero asked, startled at the questions as the man patted Aero's knee.

"Okay, let me try again: did it feel good, not in a sadistic way, to kill someone who hated faunus'? Who had just killed your friend?" he asked. Aero looked at him then rubbed the back of his head. Thinking back on what had happened, he had stabbed Donovan out of pure rage, hatred and fear. He didn't want Donovan to live, he knew that a man like him had to die.

"I guess," he said quietly as the man nodded his head and reached into his suit. He pulled out a business card and handed it to Aero, who looked it over. The card only had a time and address, confusing Aero as the man stood up.

"You have one chance. Killing is something that I do for a living. You killed someone because he killed your friend, was trying to kill you and harbored a hatred for your kind. If you want to take out more people like him, save people from the emotions you're feeling right now, you should come, but don't be a second late. Come alone, tomorrow. Understood?" the man asked. Aero nodded his head slowly as he turned and walked away. Aero continued to look at the card until he looked up again, noticing the man was gone in the shuffle of the crowd. Even though the man was gone, he easily spotted his mother, who ran to him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh my God, I heard on the radio and left work to come here. Are you okay Aero?" she asked quietly as Aero looked up at her, tears in his eyes as he shook his head.

"Marcus i… i-is…" is all he could muster as he cried again, this time into his mother's shoulder. She was able to leave with Aero soon after and the two returned to the apartment, were Aero promptly threw up in the toilet. His mother comforted him throughout the night as Aero trembled, thinking about killing someone and seeing his only friend killed in front of his eyes.

He quietly retreated to his room to lay down for the night, but before he did he pulled the card back out and looked over it. The address was only six blocks down from the apartment, yet the words 'the forest across from the building' were displayed right below it. The capital of Atlas had forests to the south, which was inhabited by small villages and the creatures of Grimm. Lastly, the time was at midnight, meaning he would have to be quiet to get past his mother. Aero flipped the card over and spotted the logo in the middle of the white card in barely visible silver: a circle, seemingly representing Remnant, with two guns crossed over it and a sword, its blade facing downward, in the middle. He had never seen the logo and dared not to ask his mother, who would raise questions as to where he got the card from. He slid it under his pillow, threw his pajamas on and laid down, trying to go to sleep after the traumatic day that had transpired.

* * *

 **Damn, I am a bastard to my OC's. Two quick things: so, things picked up quickly in this chapter, mainly did that so we can go ahead and get into the meat of things so if you don't like that, I'm really sorry it's just how I decided to write it. Secondly sorry if I faked anyone out with reposting Chapter 30 of Crusaders of Remnant. I had to make a change and thus why I did that, so I apologize for that as well. The change? Specter, the second part, is now officially titled Renegade (thanks X Ambassadors and that good song). Still taking a while to write chapters so come back again on Monday for Chapter 3!**


	3. The Start

Chapter 3

Aero laid his bed, staring at the ceiling as noon rolled around. He had called Bobby and told him he couldn't go in and Bobby fully understood, giving Aero a few days off. Aero stared up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts as his mother entered his room and looked at her son.

"Hey," she said, snapping Aero from his trance, "Ready to get going?"

"Yeah," Aero said quietly, pulling the covers off and getting dressed as his mother left him. He quickly left his room, his hat covering his eyes as he and his mother left the apartment and out to the quiet sidewalk. Aero had to go get a suit for Marcus's funeral which was in a few days. He and his mother walked slowly, neither saying a word as they walked into a small shop and got Aero measured and fitted for the suit. Soon enough they returned with a few groceries, allowing Aero to go back to his room, lay on his bed and try and get more rest. However, before he could sleep his mother came into the room. She sat on his bed next to his head, placing a hand on the top near his bat ears and scratching his head gently.

"It's okay Aero, Marcus is in a better place," she said softly.

"Yeah, I guess so," Aero replied quietly.

"I'm sure he's happy where he is Aero and I'm sure he misses you deeply."

"I bet," Aero said sadly, trying to keep the good memories of him and his friend, not the one that had been plaguing his young mind the past twelve hours.

"Have you been to his parent's house?"

"Not yet."

"Maybe you should go tonight."

"I might," he said, closing his eyes and sighing deeply as his mother shook her head.

"Try and think positively Aero, I know Marcus would not want to see you like this. I'll have dinner ready in a couple of hours, go see his parents," Vivian said, patting his shoulder as she got up and left the room, closing the door behind her. Aero looked at the door than at one of his walls, contemplating what to do. He was scared to visit Marcus's parents because of the swell of emotion he knew would come up when he got there, but he knew he would have to confront it eventually. He got up, said goodbye to his mother and left, walking down the sidewalk and crossing streets until he found himself in front of a small three-story brick townhouse with a brown roof, red door and closed windows. He tapped on the front door, hoping no one would open it. Sadly for Aero, Marcus's mother opened it and looked at Aero with joy and sadness.

"Aero Kalo," she said with a soft smile gracing her lips that matched the tone of her voice, "come on in. Is your mother not joining us?"

"Thanks and sorry Mrs. Smart, she's making dinner right now."

"Ah, I see," she said. She turned and walked upstairs, with Aero trailing behind her. The downstairs had only a garage while the second floor was the kitchen and living room and the third housed the bedrooms. The living room was a brilliant shade of light orange which was complimented by brown walls in the kitchen.

Grace Smart was wearing a simple white sleeping gown that covered her aged body. She sat next to her husband, who was watching a sporting event. William Smart was wearing jeans and a green-shirt while Grace's sister, Juliet, was completely covered by a blanket as she laid on the couch. All three had more prominent whiskers than Marcus had along with more pronounced fangs. Grace leaned close to her husband and whispered something, making him immediately turn to Aero and wave him over to him. Aero approached cautiously until William pulled him into a hug and gently squeezed. Aero was shocked by what William did but returned the hug and returned the squeeze as best he could, all the while feeling wetness on his shoulder. Both let go as Grace pointed to a dining room chair.

"Pull a seat up Aero," she said, Aero doing as she said. He placed the seat next to William and watched the sporting event with them until Aero turned to Grace.

"How did you know my name? I've never been around here."

"Oh I know dear, but Marcus talked quite a bit about you," she said, her brown eyes glistening when she spoke her deceased son's name. Aero nodded his head as William gripped his shoulder.

"Marcus told us what you'd do for him, the advice you gave him and the 'scores' you two had. You were a good kid to him Aero," William said, patting Aero's shoulder. Aero nodded his head and breathed deeply, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"It's okay Aero," Juliet said suddenly, spotting the young man trying to calm himself down, "We've all shed a lot of tears already. You can let it go."

"I think I've done enough crying for now," Aero said. The four continued to watch the event while talking and reminiscing about Marcus until Aero looked at the clock and realized he had been there for an hour and a half.

"Well, thank you guys for having me and I am so sorry for your loss," Aero said, directing the last part to William and Grace. The three of them thanked him and hugged him before he left, telling them he would be at the funeral with his mother in a few days. Aero returned home to his mother watching TV, eating pasta and pointing to some being left on the stove. He sluggishly ate the food then returned to his room, staring at the clock and waiting for time to go by.

* * *

Aero peeked from out of his room and looked at his mother's door, which was closed. It was nearly time for the meeting and Aero knew he had to get going. He tip-toed past his mother's door, opened the window in the living room as easily as he could without making noise, climbed through it then closed it behind him. He made his way down the fire escape and to the old warehouse that was at the address than looked across the street. The dark, looming forest waited for him and it seemed as though something was beckoning to Aero, causing him to quickly go in. However, Aero realized how bad of an idea this was considering Grimm could be anywhere, thus why when he heard a branch snap a few feet away he jumped and yelped.

"Jeez kid calm down," he heard in the shadows, realizing it was the same man that had given him the card at the plaza, "You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, I thought you were one of those Beowolf's," Aero said as he felt two hands clamp down on his shoulders and move him forward, the gentleman directing him.

"I understand," he said as they walked, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," Aero replied solemnly as the man tapped his shoulders.

"Don't worry, things are going to be different after tonight," the man said as the two approached a small, flat field. In the middle were twenty other people, each seeing one another thanks to torches that were sticking six feet out of the ground. In front of them stood two more people and everyone ranged in ages, yet Aero could tell he was the youngest. The man led him to one of the torches than walked to the other two and shook their hands, striking up conversation with them. Aero stayed next to one of the torches and looked around, trying to look calm yet his trembling hindered him.

"You okay?" he heard to his left. It came from a young woman with light brown braided hair that framed her face and fell to her shoulders, cream colored skin and light orange eyes. She was wearing a black skirt that reached her knees, boots and a buttoned up red and white plaid shirt.

"I'm fine," Aero replied, looking down at the green grass.

"When did they get you?" she asked, her silvery voice catching Aero's attention.

"Huh?"

"Who did you kill?"

"Oh… It was a guy that killed my friend in… I saw him do it and then he went for me," Aero said. The young woman patted his shoulder in sympathy.

"You?"

"My father was about to rape my mother while being drunk. I pulled him off, he hit me, I grabbed one of his bottles, broke it over his skull after a few hits. He lunged at me and I dug the bottle into his chest."

"Fucking hell," Aero said as she nodded her head.

"Dad was always a huge prick and bastard, so he had it coming, ya know?" she asked as Aero nodded. She held her hand out for Aero, who took it and shook his hand.

"Lila Evergreen."

"Aero Kalo," he returned with a small smile that she copied as one of the men up front cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Alright guys. I know you have a lot of questions and I want you to understand we can't tell you everything. Some of you guys are professional mercenaries, others killed by chance. Doesn't matter to us," Aero's recruiter began.

"We getting paid for this shit?" one of the women up front asked with an attitude.

"You will but you must pledge your life to our cause and be fully committed to it and not go to anyone else," the man answered.

"Get out of here," another said, a few of them now grumbling.

"You guys want something different? Fine, leave. Be our guest. But keep in mind one thing: if you say one word about coming here and this location, you will be killed on the spot, understood?" a young man next to the other two said. Six turned to him, waiting to see if he was bluffing then left, going back into the forest. There journey was cut short when shots rang out, hitting each person in the head cleanly, their blood and brains splattering the grass, making everyone except the three men up front back away.

"Anyone else want to leave?" one asked in slightly gruff voice, earning shaking heads, "Perfect. Well, now that that's taken care of, allow me to introduce you to The Syndicate. You can call me Micky, this," he motioned to the man that had helped Aero, "is Nico. The young chap is Sebastian. Ready to begin initiation?"

Suddenly, the ground beneath the remaining participants shifted and began to descend, causing them to look at the metallic walls as the torches disappeared into small holes in the newly revealed metallic plate.

"So, before you ask, you can leave at any time. We had to weed the mercenaries out. Every time we try and get them to our side for their expertise but they only care about money at the end of the day. However, the same threat applies to you lot: speak even a syllable of what you've heard and what you've see and you will meet your maker early," Micky said as the lift stopped in front of two large doors. They parted to reveal a white corridor with a metallic floor, where the three led the rest of the recruits forward. Halfway down the hallway it split in three ways: straight, left and right yet they continued forward. At the end of the long hallway two more doors opened to a small room that looked like the hallway but filled with chairs where Micky told everyone to sit while he stood in front of them.

"Now, I know a lot of you have a lot of questions going through your mind and I hope I can answer all of them with what I'm about to say. The Syndicate started about twenty-five years ago. Certain people in society saw what was happening in the four kingdoms and tried to stop it, however it was too late and the Great War began. Since then however, we have been ever vigilant in trying to prevent another war. How do we do that? We kill. We take out anyone who we think will have a negative impact on the world on any species, human or faunus."

"So, you keep the kingdoms in check in a way," someone blurted out.

"Pretty much," Micky said. He was older with his white hair matching his skin and contrasted his dark green eyes. He wore a blue business jacket over a red shirt and jeans with sneakers. Nico still wore the all silver suit that Aero had seen him in when they met. Sebastian was the youngest of the three and was listening intently while taking notes, his brown eyes scanning his notepad as he wore an orange shirt and red jeans with blonde hair that contrasted his dark skin.

"We want you guys on because you're young, which means you're open to a lot of different ideas," Nico said, standing up and taking Micky's place, "We want you on because you will be the new generation to have influence. You will change the political atmosphere for years to come if you join us."

"How do you expect us to kill if you picked us by chance?" Aero questioned, making Nico smirk at the young faunus.

"Good question. Trust me, we will fully train you in hand-to-hand combat, gun and sword use. You will take contracts from us and from the kingdoms who believe that certain politicians have gotten too much power. You will fight for your life and take lives with the simple pull of a trigger. We want you guys to understand that The Syndicate is about making the world better."

With his speech out of the way, Nico sat back down, allowing Micky to get back up.

"I know this is a lot to take in. Some of you we got by a chance while some of you are trained killers or knowing killers. I understand this isn't the life for some of you. But I believe in every group I pull in and I believe in you guys," he began, motioning for everyone to follow him as they walked back to the elevator, "Come back here in three days with your answer, which is a simple yes or no. If you don't, again I really stress that you don't say a word or you will be dead. Clear?" he said turning to the group. Everyone nodded as he hit a switch, the elevator moving up slowly until they were back in the field.

"Have a good night guys and think long and hard about this offer," Nico said as everyone left. Aero nodded to Nico and walked beside Lila, the two sharing small chat with one another and getting to know one another better. Aero found out that she was two years older than him and lived across the capital in the industrial section. The two bonded over being single children and not having the best living locations, with their chatter stopping at Aero's apartment, where they said their goodbyes. All the while the three members had watched the recruits leave and chatted amongst themselves.

"Whatcha think Sebastian?" Nico asked.

"I think any of them could be good members. The question is, especially for recruits like Aero and Lila, are they willing to kill again and again especially being so young?"

"Oh I think Aero is," Nico said, leaning against a torch as Micky turned to him.

"What makes you saw that Mr. Cocky?"

"He wants to fight for his people, that's a cause just as good as ours."

"Hopefully they'll make good members of the Assassin's Guild… when are we going to tell them that they are assassins and not members of another group idiotically titled 'The Syndicate'?" Sebastian asked with air quotes.

"In due time we'll tell them. And there's nothing wrong with The Syndicate because I thought of it. Besides, don't you have handler training to do?" Nico asked, earning a groan from Sebastian and a chuckle from Micky. Sebastian began to walk away, leaving the two elder assassins alone in the field to go over the recruits, ready to weed out the weak and make the Assassin's Guild stronger.

* * *

 **FUCK I'M STILL WORKING ON THIS BECAUSE MY COMPANY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO SCHEDULE ME FOR FIVE STRAIGHT DAYS, THEN HAVE A DAY OFF, THEN THREE STRAIGHT DAYS. Thus is A reason why I'm just now on five. However, I'm flying through it and so are the chapters pace wise because, again, this acts as the prequel and I want to get through this so we can get to the meat of it all. Come back next week for initiation! Fav, review, whatever!**


	4. Origin of a Name

Chapter 4

"Dearly beloved, we are all gathered here to love, to grief, to embrace and to remember," the priest began, standing in front of a closed wooden casket. He, Marcus's family, Aero and his mother all stood in a graveyard in the middle of a hot day in Atlas as the priest began his sermon. Everyone was wearing black and looking down or at the priest, taking in his words as tears flowed and blurred the vision of every person there. After twenty minutes, the priest finished, allowing everyone to say one last goodbye. Aero was one of the first to walk up to the casket and placed a hand on it, looking down and sighing.

"I wish I could've stopped him Marcus, I really wish I could've," Aero whispered, "But, I think I can help our kind. I just don't know if I can do it. I really wish you could give me your opinion bud. I miss you Marcus and I'll never forget you," Aero said, patting the casket as he walked away to his mother, who hugged him. As he embraced his mother, Aero looked and saw Nico in a black suit observing everyone. Aero's mother left to talk to Marcus's parents, allowing Aero to go over to Nico.

"What are you doing here?" Aero asked.

"Paying my respects," Nico answered, watching the sad scene.

"Why? You didn't know Marcus."

"That is true Mr. Kalo. But," Nico said as he removed his sunglasses, allowing Aero to see Nico's blue eyes, "he was your friend. And as a member of The Syndicate, we do our best to look out for one another no matter what. We try and be there in our member's most trying times, offer a shoulder a cry on and give advice on what to do next."

"What do you think I should do?" Aero asked, curious as to how Nico would reply, who simply shrugged.

"It's your choice. But I want you to understand something: you think you're gonna make a difference at a diner? You know that some patrons give you dirty looks or get angry with you for no reason. Would you want a child in this world if it was still like this thirty years down the road?"

"No, I wouldn't."

"Exactly. I know training to be a member of The Syndicate would be extremely difficult and I understand if you say no, but you would be making an impact. You would be silencing those that wish harm to your kind. You would be able to help families stay together and avoid future tragedies. If not you, someone else will," he said, putting his sunglasses on and turning away, leaving Aero to think until he ran to Nico.

"Wait!" he called out, causing the gentleman to turn around, "Be honest with me Nico. What really is The Syndicate?" Aero asked, causing a chuckle and smile to come across Nico's lips, something Aero had never seen before.

"We are a group of like-minded individuals-"

"I know all that bullshit," Aero said, earning a bigger smile from Nico, "Who are you guys really?"

"We are the Assassin's Guild Aero Kalo. We cater to humanity and the kingdoms. We keep everyone in check and keep Remnant in balance to avoid another war. Any other questions?" Nico asked as Aero shook his head slowly, "Good. Remember, come back tonight to give us your answer. I hope you make the right one Mr. Kalo," Nico said, turning back around and walking away. Aero walked back to his mother, who was comforting Marcus's mother Grace. Aero copied what his mother did and the both of them extended grievances to the family.

"If you ever need anything Grace, just let me or Aero know," Alexis said as she hugged the grieving mother.

"I-I will," Grace said in between harsh breaths as she returned the hug and then hugged Aero tightly. Soon Alexis and Aero left and walked back to the apartment, where the two sat on the couch and watched TV for a while in silence. Eventually Aero walked to his room and laid down, waiting until the sky darkened, giving him time to think. When that happened, Aero again snuck by his mother's door, out the window and down the fire escape to the warehouse and forest. This time, remembering the way Nico guided him last time, Aero made his way through the forest until he reached the clearing. There, he saw Nico, Micky and Sebastian along with thirteen recruits, with a few missing as the midnight hour approached.

"Ah, there he is," Nico said as he spotted Aero walk forward, "Mr. Kalo. What is your answer?" he asked.

"I will join," Aero said quietly, earning a smile and nod from Nico as he pointed behind Aero, a sign for him to step back. Aero turned to Lila, who waved him over. Midnight came and went as the two continued to talk to each other.

"Sorry about your friend Aero, I know his funeral must have been hard."

"It's fine. How'd you know his funeral was today?"

"I overheard Nico talking about it."

"How? You're a faunus?" Aero asked, earning a chuckle from Lila.

"No dumbass, he just talks loud," she replied, making Aero feel embarrassed for his question.

"Alight, no one else. We're missing four, so I guess those are no's," Sebastian said as he typed on his Scroll. He hit a button and the floor beneath them once again moved and lowered them underground to the base of the Assassin's.

"Okay, you guys are gonna have two main people with you: your trainer and your handler. Your trainer will, obviously, train you for two years and you will go on missions with them. Your handler, who you'll be paired with at a later date, will accompany you on all missions and will direct you where to go," Micky said as they walked down the hallway once again yet stopped at the intersection and went left. They entered to thirteen people, each wearing different clothing and staring at the recruits.

"Welcome to the Assassin's Guild recruits. These are a few of our fellow assassins. You guys have already been assigned to them, so go and say hi to them. Sebastian?" Micky said as Sebastian read off a list on his Scroll, assigning everyone to their assassin. Not to Aero's shock, he looked at Nico as Sebastian told him that Nico was his tutor. Aero smiled and nodded his head, something Nico returned as Aero walked over to him.

"Why me Nico?"

"For some odd reason Aero, I have a lot of faith in you. Ready to begin?"

"Oh yeah."

"Perfect," Nico said, motioning for Aero's hand. Aero looked in confusion then yelped in pain as Nico pulled out a gun-like object and stuck a needle in Aero's hand. Aero shook his hand and looked at Nico in confusion.

"The hell?"

"It's a tracker. That way we know where you are. We all have one, don't worry. Now you're ready to go."

"Great."

* * *

For the next six months, Aero repeated the same routine: train with Nico for four hours, sleep for four hours, work for Bobby then return home. In that time frame, Aero had bonded with Nico, who had taught him how to use pistols and assault rifles while going over the basics of hand-to-hand combat. While Aero was exhausted, he was also excited as today Nico had a surprise for him. They stood in their training area, which was a large white mat on a wooden floor with matching walls. An assortment of guns and bladed weapons hung on the walls and multiple punching bags hung from the ceiling.

"So, one reason I have faith in you is that you're a faunus," Nico said as Aero entered in his typical workout gear of shorts and a t-shirt along with his usual cap.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Aero asked, "And I never told you about that, you just knew. How?"

"To answer in reverse order: Hate to say it, but not that many humans are friends with faunus'. While that's changing, I figured you were one too when I saw who Marcus was. And to answer your first question, you have a reason to kill, few in this guild can say that anymore. Now, hat off," Nico ordered, which Aero did immediately, revealing his bat ears.

"I figured they just give me better hearing," Aero said as he stretched.

"They do most certainly. But, I think you may have something else. Click your tongue."

Aero did yet nothing happened. He looked at Nico with a confused expression as Nico stretched while pondering.

"What are you thinking master?"

"Close your eyes when you do it."

Aero did it just as Nico said and jumped at what he 'saw'.

"What is it Aero?"

"I can see the whole room for a little while…" he said, clicking his tongue again, "And I can see you."

"Echolocation. I figured you had some other traits of a bat in your DNA."

"So, the sound reverberates creating an image…" Aero said, as he took in everything. He could not see anything until he clicked his tongue, which highlighted everything in the room in a white aura for a short amount of time.

"How the hell did I not know about this? I'm a fucking faunus," Aero said, earning a chuckle from Nico.

"You probably never thought about it. To be fair, it may have never worked, you're the first bat faunus I know. But hey, faunus' usually have multiple traits. For example, cat faunus' are usually athletic and really like tuna."

"Know from experience?"

"Oh yeah," Nico said with a grin, making Aero shake his head, "Anyway, today is an exciting day because you get your blades."

"My blades?"

"Yup," Nico said, grabbing a box from the ground and motioning for Aero to come closer. He did and Nico opened the box to long black gloves with a slight bulge on the top of them. Nico nodded his head and Aero took out the gloves, examining the black material until he pulled them up his arms, which ended at his elbows.

"These are your extensions, these are the tools of the guild," Nico began as Aero put his fingers through five holes. The fingerless-gloves covered his palm and top of his hand and covered his entire forearm.

"These are really badass."

"Glad you like them. Now, those five rings around your knuckles will trigger the blade. You have to curl your hand into a fist and move your fist down," Nico explained while doing the motion. Aero copied it and jumped at the nine inch blades that came forth from his wrists.

"Holy shit," Aero said, examining the blade as Nico watched and smiled.

"Ready to try them out?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Well, we have to do a bit of training first," Nico said, his voice trailing as Aero looked disappointed.

"Damn it, why?" he asked. Suddenly, his vision went out as a burlap sack was thrown over his head. He screamed until he was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.

* * *

Aero awoke in a sitting position. The sack still covered his head and he groaned at the thumping pain in the back of his head. Light strewn through the bag as he heard someone open and close a door behind him. Aero tried to move and realized his wrists were bound, as were his ankles. Aero sat in a room with green walls and tile flooring with a one-way window to his left. Behind it stood Sebastian and Nico, who watched as Micky sat across from Aero.

"I don't think this is a good idea whatsoever," Sebastian said as he read Aero's heightened vitals, "He's fourteen. His body won't be able to take it."

"So says you Sebastian, but it has to be done. He'll be fine."

"If something happens, it's on your head," Sebastian snapped back, surprising Nico.

"That's new, you don't know the damn kid and yet are so passionate about him.

"You hit the fucking point: he's fourteen and you recruited him into the guild. Why? He's so young Nico, that's not fair to him."

"Doesn't matter, he agreed to it," he said as Micky began to ask Aero questions about who he was and who he worked for. Aero didn't answer any of the questions he was asked. Micky sat a desk across from the young faunus and on the desk was a switch, which had wires that led to little pads that were attached to Aero's skin. Micky shook his head and hit the switch, sending electricity through Aero's body, causing him to yell in pain. Sebastian winced as Aero's vitals spiked at the sudden pain. Nico shook his head as Micky turned the switch off and looked at Aero.

"Give me the information I want."

"W-where is Nico?" Aero asked, trembling because of the shock.

"Who is that?"

"A friend of m-mine… w-what did y-you to him?" Aero asked, still trembling, trying to calm himself.

"No idea… What would happen if I poured water on you kid? Hm?" Micky said as he got up.

"Oh my God! Nico, stop him!" Sebastian yelled at the elder assassin. Nico just watched, causing Sebastian to grit his teeth as he moved to the door. However, his walking interrupted by a sword that came in front of his neck, mere inches from his flesh.

"Don't Sebastian."

"He's going to kill Aero if he pours water on him you fucking moron! The electricity-"

"I know Sebastian," Nico said as he turned back to Micky taking a bottle of water and pouring it on Aero, who was pleading with him to stop.

"I'll stop when you give me what I want kid."

"I don't k-know anything!" Aero yelled, tears coming to his eyes. He hollered in pain as Micky flipped the switch. He kept the switch on for twenty seconds, not flinching or showing remorse as Sebastian monitored his life signs. Micky turned it off and Aero slumped over, not moving or breathing.

"He's flat-lining!" Sebastian said as ran out the door, Nico hot on his tail. They swiftly entered the room.

"What the hell?!" Micky yelled.

"He's flat-lining," Nico said coolly and left the room as Sebastian pulled Aero back while Micky quickly undid the restraints. They laid Aero on the ground, taking the bag off and ripping his shirt open as Nico came back with a defibrillator. He quickly turned it on and shocked Aero's chest once, causing the faunus to sit up, engage his right blade and hold it a mere inch from Micky's neck.

"Holy hell…" Micky said as the three looked at Aero, who was breathing harshly with gritted teeth. It took Aero a few seconds to realize it was Micky and suddenly laid back down, still breathing hard as Sebastian motioned for Nico to grab a bottle of water.

"You okay Aero?" Sebastian asked as Aero looked at him and nodded slowly. Nico returned with the water and handed it to Aero, who took it, sat up and drank slowly.

"So… I'm s-still at the guild?"

"Yeah… we usually do this to test the resilience of the recruits, see if they'll give anything up," Sebastian responded.

"How did Lila do?"

"She did good," Sebastian responded with a smile, something Aero returned, "I told these two jackasses you were to young because it would take too much of a toll."

"It's okay Seb," Aero said as Micky helped him up, "Is it okay if I skip tomorrow?"

"Of course," Sebastian replied.

"What was death like?" Micky asked.

"Death?"

"Aero, you were dead for a few seconds there," Nico said.

"Oh wow… it was just dark. Next thing I knew though, I woke up with a sharp pain in my chest and flung up with the blade, knowing someone would be close to me and I thought it was whoever kidnapped me. It felt like I just took a nap, you know?" Aero said, shaking his head and pouring some water over his head while Sebastian patted his back.

"Seb?"

"What? I can't think of any nicknames for you, so Seb," Aero retorted, the two chuckling at his response as Sebastian helped him to his feet.

"Came back from the dead… you need your own nickname now. Every assassin has one," Nico said as he leaned on the wall and thought to himself.

"Every assassin has a name attached to them," Micky said just as Aero was going to ask for clarification, "For example, we have Saunin the Mad, Lila earned the title Unbreakable. For you…"

"The Revenant. He came back from the dead," Sebastian said as the two assassins looked at him and nodded their head.

"I love it," Aero said as he began to take his blades off.

"Wait. Keep the blades with you. Those are yours now and will protect you."

"Thanks," Aero said as he looked them over and walked out of the room slowly. Sebastian turned to the two assassins and shook his head.

"Aero the Revenant and Lila the Unbreakable. They'll make a good pair."

"They'll make great assassins," Micky said as he sat the chair back up while Sebastian and Nico left, talking about the new recruits, with the number dwindling down from fourteen to nine new assassins.

* * *

 **Everything has a beginning and an origin. So, I really hope you guys are liking it so far and I'm starting to get back to my usual writing schedule, work be damned, so I'm doing my best to get chapters written while trying to have as high quality as possible. Thank you all so much for being patient as I try and get to two chapters posted a week, which I'll do next week! So, Chapter 5 on Monday and then on Friday Chapter 6. Thanks for the support and I'll see you guys next Monday!**


	5. The First of Many

**Hey guys, quick note (I have another at the bottom): so, a friend of mine, A Shadow in Chains, started a new story called An Unlikely Hero. It's extremely well written and well done and best part is that there's only one chapter for right now and yes it's a RWBY fanfic with an OC. I highly recommend it, it's really well written. Anyhow, enjoy chapter 5!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Aero stood on the roof of a building, overlooking the target, who was having an evening stroll in a quiet neighborhood in Vacuo. Aero wore all black including his hat and a face mask and had with him a collapsible baton a standard-issued guild pistol and a short blade. He followed the target, staying out of sight and using his black clothing to hide himself.

"Nico, I have the target in sight," he said into a small microphone that was positioned in front of his face.

"Copy," Nico said over the radio as it came alive again.

"His route usually ends in about three blocks, may want to strike soon," Sebastian said over the radio.

"Aero, kill one of the lights," Nico said as he approached the man from behind dressed in casual clothing. Aero nodded and ran ahead three blocks, taking out his pistol and aiming down the sights. The special 11-mm pistol had a thicker barrel that acted as a silencer which helped in these kind of situations. Aero waited and when a car drove by he shot the light out, helping mask the sound as the man kept walking, listening to some music on his Scroll.

"Perfect Aero," he heard Nico say as the man made his way down three blocks and looked up at the light. He then looked down at the glass, giving Nico the chance to come up behind him and dig a blade into his heart. The man couldn't scream as Nico covered his mouth and twisted the blade, making sure he was dead before quickly climbing up the building that Aero now stood on.

"Well done master," Aero said as Nico nodded his head and patted Aero's shoulder.

"My last kill… simple. I like it," he said as they returned to Sebastian, who was chilling in the back seat of a green SUV, his laptop on his lap and the microphone in front of his lips. The SUV was in an abandoned parking garage in an old neighborhood. Sebastian jumped to the front and started the car as police sirens wailed in the distance. Aero jumped in the backseat and Nico took the passenger seat as Sebastian drove away.

"So Nico, what are you going to do now?"

"I'll help the guild get new members and train them. While I do that I'll have more off time, which is nice because I have a little place in Vale that I've had for a few years."

"Understandable," Sebastian said as Aero laid down in the backseat and closed his eyes. In his first year as an assassin, this was his second mission with Nico and also his last. He, Nico, Lila and Sebastian had all become good friends in the past year. However, Nico was retiring after being an assassin for eighteen years. The 43-year-old Nico was still going to train him for another year, yet for Aero it was still bittersweet as he and Nico had become good friends even after the torture incident. They returned to one of the bases the guild had in Vacuo, which fronted as a hotel with certain rooms set aside for assassins at all times and included all amenities. The biggest problem for Aero recently had been hiding this second life from his boss and more importantly his mom, who had caught him coming back in on a few occasions. He knew it was something he would have to tell her eventually, something he grappled with every day, yet still didn't know how to as he laid down on the bed.

* * *

"Okay, so you know how to throw knives, you're pretty good at hand-to-hand combat and you know how to shoot. You know how to use a short blade and your hidden blades. Question: What about a sword?" Nico asked as Aero looked at him and shrugged, the two of them standing in a backroom in the hotel in Vacuo. They were a few days removed from Nico's last mission and Aero was visibly tired, getting little sleep and training heavily since that night.

"You alright Aero?" Sebastian asked he observed the training. Aero nodded slowly and looked at Nico who pulled out a black, smooth rod that was seven inches long and handed it to a confused Aero. He looked it over and over, eliciting laughter from Nico.

"Flick it to the side," Nico said to Aero, who looked annoyed. Aero flicked it to the side and jumped at the 27-inch long blade that jumped out.

"Holy shit that's badass!" Aero said, immediately waking up and looking over the sword and running a hand down the cool steel.

"That is your main weapon. It's a sword that collapses at four parts. You can flick it open like that or," Nico said, approaching Aero and clicking a button at the bottom of the rod, making the entire blade collapse back into the rod.

"Fuck that is cool," Aero said, looking over the rod as Sebastian approached him, "But, no cross guard?"

"Just be careful when fighting a fellow swordsmen," Nico said with a shrug, something Aero met with a shaking head as Sebastian clasped a hand on his shoulder.

"Besides the sword, I have a surprise for you, well, okay, not just me," Sebastian said as he looked to his right. Aero followed his gaze to Lila, who was wearing a dark green coat, khakis and had her hair in a ponytail.

"Hey Lila," Aero said as he hugged his friend, who returned it with one arm.

"Hey Aero, ready?" she asked with a smile. Aero nodded and Lila revealed a box that she was holding behind her back. Aero opened it to two 11-mm chrome pistols that had a light blue tint to them. Aero took out and examined with a huge smile on his face.

"Shit guys, you didn't have to," he said as Sebastian pointed at the grips, which had AK inscribed on them.

"Thought you would like them and I asked Lila to deliver them for a specific reason," Nico said, gripping his shoulder as the three turned to him, "You two are going on a mission together."

"Yes!" the two exclaimed and high-fived.

"First though, you two are going on your own observation missions then you are to rendezvous and take out two targets, got it?" Nico asked, earning two eager nods from the assassins.

"Lila, you have your own pair of pistols and now you do as well Aero. Those barrels can be changed out for the bulkier silencer barrels," Sebastian said as he showed Aero the different barrels.

"Aero, you're going to Atlas, Lila to Mistral. You two then meet up in Vale, got it?" Nico asked. He handed the two folders with more detailed information on their missions, leaving the three to go over everything.

* * *

A few days later Aero was walking down a street in Atlas in his casual clothing. He wore jeans, his white hoodie that was unzipped and a grey shirt underneath. The hoodie covered his blades and he was talking on his Scroll.

"Nah mom, don't worry, I'm fine. Sorry I haven't been around lately, just a new friend wanted me to see his place in Vacuo."

"How old is this friend to have their own place?" his mother asked, her concern showing over her voice easily.

"Well, they're well off, ya know?"

"Just please be careful Aero. Bobby knows all this right?"

"Of course," Aero said, having contacted Bobby and explaining that he was going around Remnant, meeting new people and that he would be back soon to the diner.

"Okay, well, see if you can come back tonight okay? You're still fifteen and I don't want you out and about like this."

"I understand. Love you mom, bye," Aero said, hanging up and stopping in front of one of the many airfields in Atlas. Aero looked at the fence, shook his head and easily climbed over it, launching himself over the top and walking along the side of it. While looking for his targets for observation, Aero thought back to his surprise. He had learned who he was observing and went after his mentor immediately.

"Nico, what the hell?" Aero said as he caught up to his mentor, "Hunters?"

"Yeah, you gotta observe the new students heading out and about, what's the problem?"

"Why Hunters? Why is the guild watching them?"

"Just seeing if we have to worry about them."

"Why would we-"

"You know, you ask a lot of questions."

"Yeah I know, now answer them damn it," Aero said with annoyance as Nico looked at him.

"We just want to see who the new wave of Hunters will be."

"Why?"

"To see if we can get any to our cause."

"Why would they Nico? They have all of Remnant to protect."

"Oh trust me, with a little bit of money, we can make people do things for us. How do you think we get away with so many missions? Pay off politicians and news agencies to keep quiet and pass certain bits of legislation, really simple."

"So… we work to bring balance to the world while simultaneously corrupting it and turning it in our favor… that's hypocritical beyond all belief," Aero said in disbelief as Nico patted his shoulder.

"It's not hypocritical, we're just doing everything in our power to make sure we get our job done, which means no war," Nico said, leaving Aero in the hallway, shaking his head as Sebastian approached him.

"You okay?"

"You know about this hypocrisy?"

"Oh yeah, trust me, I know. Hell, I've gotten on assassins and the Board in the past about it but maybe we could get one to help."

"The Board? And the hell man."

"Hey, I'm just trying to help the guild out. Anyway, the Board is the head members of the guild. The top five assassins, former assassins and headmaster. My parents are a part of it."

"Wait. Your parents are assassins?"

"They were among the first members. I was one of the first 'guild babies'," he said, using air quotes, "that's how a good amount of people know me," he finished, motioning for Aero to follow him as they walked around the hotel.

"Lot of pressure huh?"

"Kinda. They were always okay with me not wanting to be an assassin but wanted me to help the guild. Thus, I began to train as a handler."

"How come you didn't want to be an assassin?"

"I just can't think of taking another person's life, ya know?" he said as he looked down at the plush rug. Aero patted Sebastian's shoulder, wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a half-hug. Sebastian smiled and returned the half-hug.

"Quick question which might be dumb."

"Oh God what?"

"Why were we told it was called The Syndicate?"

"Doesn't that sound a bit better than saying you're an assassin?"

"Eh."

"We lost a lot of recruits at first because we were up front, so Nico's dumb ass thought The Syndicate was a good name to ease people into it. People thought it sounded better to a member of an organization then a trained killer."

"Yeah, Nico's a dumbass," Aero agreed, the two laughing at the expense of their tutor. For Aero, it was a true bonding moment for a friend he knew he would have for a long while. Coming back to the mission at hand, Aero spotted his targets and pulled out his binoculars.

"Getting this Seb?"

"Clear as day, well done Aero," Sebastian said into his microphone while looking at the live feed from Aero's binoculars.

"Couple of heavy hitters, some look lean and a bunny faunus."

"Zoom in on that girls handbag and focus on it for me," Sebastian ordered, something Aero did quickly as Sebastian analyzed it.

"I'll be damned, it's a fucking minigun. How the fuck-"

"Don't even try and fathom it Seb, you know how Hunters are with their toys," Aero said with a smile as he hopped back over the fence, "Good?"

"Yeah, the guild will like all this stuff. That big guy, Yatsuhashi, we'll see if we can get him."

"Doubt it," Aero said as he killed the feed and his microphone, shaking his head at Sebastian's and Nico's thinking on Hunters. Yet, Aero was happy because in a couple of days he and his friend would be working together.

* * *

"Okay, simple mission: two targets, twenty guards. Aero, you have the weapons-dealer, Lila has a lowly corrupt politician who has already paid off people to get him into the Vale Senate. Both are using favors to pull strings. Take them out," Sebastian said over the radio as Aero and Lila nodded to one another. Lila was wearing a dark green long coat, a hood pulled over her head, which was open and revealed black pants and a shirt. Aero wore what he wore during Nico's last mission. The two stood across from a warehouse, taking it in as their radios buzzed alive.

"Best entrance would be the roof and a door on the left side. No one's guarding the side door and it's unlocked. Two guys are on catwalks and can be taken out without anyone noticing. You guys choose."

Both had nearly the same equipment, except Lila had a small crossbow and no short blades instead of the pistols that Aero carried. Lila looked up and found a fire escape, something she ran to as Aero walked silently along the side of the large building, stopping in front of the slightly ajar door. He slowly exhaled as Lila took out her crossbow and aimed it at one of the patrolling guards. She tracked him as Aero entered the warehouse and crouched behind some crates, taking in all the guards and breathing slowly to calm himself. Lila jumped over and landed as softly as she could, dropped down through a window on the ceiling and killed one guard with her hidden blade. She then whipped around and shot the other guard in the head, easily killing him as she looked at the guards and the targets.

"Okay, I have my target. Aero, the weapon dealer is about fifteen feet away from him. You see them?" she whispered. Aero looked to his left and saw the two men, the politician paying the guards and the dealer looking over an assault rifle.

"I spot them. We need to take the guards out or they'll raise an alarm."

"We need to take out eighteen guys silently?" Lila whispered in confusion as she aimed her crossbow at the politician.

"No, we need to mask it with something," Aero said quietly, looking at the crates and spotting one without a lid. He moved over to it and looked inside, pulling out a couple of grenades and grinning to himself.

"Aero? You've gone silent."

"Not for long. Get ready," he said as he crawled to a better position and gripped the two grenades. He then pulled the pins and counted to himself, which was interrupted by a clanking sound. Lila looked to her right and saw that the gun the first guard had had fallen to the ground, creating a loud, echoing noise that everyone looked for. A guard quickly looked up and spotted Lila.

"INTRUDER!" he yelled, aiming his gun and opening fire. Lila scrambled away, firing her crossbow, the arrow digging into the politician's shoulder, who screamed at the sudden pain. Aero chucked the two grenades at the now distracted guards, going off seconds later and scattering the guards and targets. Twelve laid dead from the blasts as Lila moved down a staircase, trying to avoid bullets as Aero shot and brought down two with headshots. The guards turned on him and fired, causing him to duck down and run. Unluckily for him however, bullets penetrated the box with the grenades, causing a massive explosion. The explosion caused a chain of explosions, shelves falling over as a fire quickly started.

"Good God what happened?!" Sebastian said into the radio as Aero ducked under a sword and stabbed a guard with his hidden blade. He turned in time to see the weapon dealer eye him down and grin. He wore a royal purple coat and blue jeans and was holding two swords.

"Well, ain't this interestin'? he said as he charged at Aero, who quickly pulled out his sword and blocked strikes from the dealer. They exchanged blows as Lila finally made it to the ground floor, threw two knives at two guards and shot another in the heart. She turned and got another shot into the dealers arm, who turned to her in pure anger. Aero took advantage and drove his sword into the man's gut and twisted the blade before pulling it out. The man kneeled on the ground and covered the wound, screaming until Aero drove his blade through the back of his throat. His screaming became gurgling as he fell down face first dead. Lila moved forward, covering her mouth from the smoke and looking aroun.

"The fuck is the other guy?!" she yelled as one last guard who was hidden charged at her. Aero met him halfway with his pistols, putting a bullet in his knee, the guard yelling as he fell onto his wounded knee. He looked up in time to see Aero aim his other pistol at his head and pull the trigger, killing the guard, allowing him to look behind some fallen shelving.

"Aero! He got past me! He's coming your way!" he heard Lila yell into the radio as his bat ears perked up at a running sound. He flicked his sword open and turned with it in a slashing motion, cutting the politician in half cleanly as he tried to run past him. Aero's eyes immediately went wide and he dropped his sword at what he had done.

"Oh I'm gonna be sick," he said, turning away and dry-heaving as Lila ran to him.

"Damn Aero," she said as he rubbed his back, gagging at the politician's body. He shook his head, pulled out his pistol and shot the politician in the head, who was groaning from the pain and in too much shock to yell as his entrails littered the ground.

"Get out of there now you two!" Sebastian said as Aero picked up his sword. The two recruits ran to the side door and burst through it, running down an alley to a waiting car. They both got in and coughed hard, trying to clear their lungs of smoke as Sebastian turned to them.

"So, how was school?" he asked.

"Fucking drive Seb, damn," Lila said, smacking his arm as he put the car in drive.

"Alright jeez," he said, turning onto a road and driving down to the airport, "We'll cover it up, say that the dealer got turned on and the politician got pinned to a tree by a car. Nasty way to go, I didn't think you could cut a guy-"

Sebastian couldn't finish as Aero leaned out the window and threw up, causing Sebastian to slam on the brakes and look at him.

"Really man?!"

"What?! You didn't cut a guy in half and see his guts!" Aero said, wiping his mouth as he sat back and breathed slowly. Lila looked at him, got up from the passenger seat and sat in back with him, curling an arm around his shoulders and leaning his head on her shoulder.

"S-sorry about that last guy."

"What last guy?"

"He tried to get you f-from behind. Should've used my echolocation thing."

"It's fine Aero," she said with a smile, rubbing his shoulder as Sebastian looked at the two via the rear-view mirror and smiled. They drove on in silence, recovering from their first successful mission together and reveling in the victory.

* * *

 **First mission as an assassin and he cuts a guy in half... anyway. Hope you guys have had a good week. Good news is that on Friday Chapter 6 comes out. Better news is that I think I'm near the end of the prequel, I'm working on 8 now and that might be the last one, which will lead into Renegade. Hope you guys have a great week, I'll see you on Friday! Leave a review, fav, follow, etc.!**


	6. Going Solo

Chapter 6

Sixteen year old Aero found himself in the main headquarters of the Assassin's Guild in Atlas, looking over some news on his Scroll. The headquarters was literally underground and connected to the underground facility that Aero had seen two years ago when he was being recruited. It stretched from that field all the way to one of the mountains, where the heart of the guild laid. He went through a sliding door and entered a large, vertical area that was inside the mountain. He looked it over and smiled to himself, leaning on a railing and looking it over. The look of the guild on the inside reflected Atlas, with it being stark white with a lot of glass, having a futuristic, tech look to it all. Being midnight, not that many members of the guild were up and about, however he spotted one looking at his Scroll and snuck up on him.

"Seb!" he yelled, creating an echo as the man jumped and punched Aero in the arm, who was laughing at his friend's reaction.

"Fucking asshole," Sebastian said, shaking his head as Aero continued to laugh and pat his friends back.

"Ah man, you should've seen yourself, your face man!" he said, still laughing as Sebastian shook his head, ignoring his immature friend.

"You really do act your age."

"Hey, that's insulting."

"What? It's true, you're sixteen," Sebastian said, getting back at Aero and smiling as he patted Aero's shoulder, "Trust me, you are very mature, but then you do stupid shit like that."

"It's called living and having a bit of fun bud."

"Hm," Sebastian responded, looking over a report from a recent mission with another assassin. Aero watched him then looked down at two fellow female members having a conversation about weapons, which he picked up on thanks to his enhanced hearing.

"Damn she's hot," Aero said, staring at one as Sebastian shook his head.

"Yup, typical teenager."

"Hey! Not my fault, just saying. Come on, you know she's hot."

"I don't see her like that."

"Oh, so… you're…"

"No, I'm asexual you moron," Sebastian said, looking at Aero, who looked confused, "It means I'm not sexually attracted to people."

"Ah. Wow, that's new."

"Not really," Sebastian said as he finished looking at the report and sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"My handler training is almost complete. Compared to assassin training, handler training is a bit more because we have a test and then we have to choose an assassin to be attached to. I've been with you for awhile-"

"So you're gonna pick someone else?" Aero said, sounding slightly hurt, which brought a smile to Sebastian's lips.

"Why would I? Man you are a fucking moron," Sebastian said as Aero sighed in relief, "Oh wow, was Aero Kalo, one of the top recruits, actually worried and about to be sad?"

"Look man," Aero began, getting a chuckle from Sebastian, "I see you as an older brother, like how I saw my buddy Marcus. You're like an older brother and that's nice, ya know?"

"Yeah, I got you man and I appreciate it. Ready for your first solo?"

"I think so."

"You are. After this, you'll be ranked and start moving up," Sebastian said, getting off the railing and walking away, leaving a slightly confused Aero.

"The hell you mean ranked?" Aero said, walking after him.

"Oh, that's right, I never told you. Man, I tell Lila things and I think that I told you them and-," he stopped, looking at a disinterested Aero, "Right. Anyway, when you become an assassin, you go on the List. The List consists of all the assassins, and after you, Lila and the other four go on their missions, it'll be sixty people up there. Keep doing well and you'll move up; have a bad mission, you go down. You also get a save, which means you choose one person and they can never be hunted by us. I already assigned it to your mother."

"Thanks for doing that. So, what kinda test do you have?"

"It's your solo mission. Before that, it's a small part on proper procedures and then to the shooting range."

"Shooting range? For what? You're not going to be in the field."

"I may or things may go to shit really quickly. That's when I don't have a problem killing people."

"How good is your shot?"

"Pretty damn good," Sebastian said, walking up to the third floor, into a room and to a desk. He opened the drawer and pulled out two manila folders, handing them to Aero as he sat at the desk.

"While this chat has been a lot of fun Aero, I need to brush up on certain things. That is your mission and Lila's. Go give it to her so you guys can prep for your mission."

"Thanks Seb, good luck," Aero said, fist bumping Sebastian and leaving him to study as he walked back to the second floor and looked around. The inside of the guild was split into five levels: the ground floor, which housed the training areas and armory, the second which housed assassins, the third had offices for information seekers and handlers, the fourth had eating and lounge areas and the fifth for the Board. Aero looked around the floor he was on just a couple of minutes ago for Lila's room. Since he still lived with his mother Aero didn't have his own room, yet when he turned eighteen he had already made it known that he was moving out, something he and his mother had been getting into arguments about lately. He found her door and knocked on it, hearing a groaning sound and shuffling feet until Lila opened the door.

Like his relationship with Sebastian, Aero saw Lila as a big sister more than anything else, enjoying the company and advice she had given him over the past two years. She was able to stay at the guild because she told her mother she was moving out and their relationship had been estranged since she killed her father. While her mother was grateful for saving her from such a terrible fate, she was still hurt that her daughter had killed the man she loved. Lila had simply told her she was going to live with a friend in Mistral and would see her mother every couple of months. She had become cool in the field yet was loving and caring to her friends, especially Aero. However, that loving and coolness was gone and replaced with exhaustion and testiness.

"Aero, it's two in the damn morning. I know you're a night owl, but come the fuck on," she said groggily as Aero shook his head at her. In the two years Aero had been at the guild he had grown to a solid five foot nine while Lila stood at five foot six, something Aero wasn't afraid to joke about.

"Sorry to wake you from your beauty rest, but duty calls for us tomorrow," he said, handing her the manila folder. She reached out, her hand covered by the long sleeves of her green robe that covered a white night gown, and took the folder. She shook her head as she thanked him and shuffled back to bed, leaving Aero to go the fourth floor to look over his folder.

His target was a well off real-estate broker who had inherited his father's business and turned it around. He was starting to use his money as leverage on people to get certain items, thus why he had to go. Aero chuckled at where he was going to strike the man down: at a brothel, one he frequented quite a bit called Theia's Hedonism in uptown Atlas.

"Of course Seb gave me a brothel," Aero said to himself as he walked back to the ground floor and to the underground entrance to go back home, already going over the mission in his head.

* * *

"So, what's Lila's mission?"

"Bodyguard for a politician trying to take him out."

"Sounds like fun. Who's her handler?"

"Buddy of mine, Vincent Angotti. Bout a year younger than me, the two of them have great chemistry in the field."

"Nice," Aero said as he approached a three-story building, looking it over and nodding to himself as his radio quietly buzzed to life.

"Great looking place huh?" he heard Sebastian say as Aero took in the building. It was an old brick building that contrasted some of the more modern looking buildings it stood next to. The windows had shutters were silhouettes moved about in the soft light that poured from the rooms. Aero shook his head and felt around in his hoodie, locating a fake ID and a throwing knife.

"Seems cozy. Where's my stuff at?"

"We had a member run through earlier as a member of the cleaning crew-"

"Oh I bet that was fun."

"Your stuff should be in one of the vents on the third floor. The target is underground. They have a door that goes that way but you must know the owners and have a lot of money."

"Which of course I don't."

"Luckily the vents lead to the underground area. Get in, get your stuff, kill the guy and get out. You have the thousand lien just in case right?"

"Got it," Aero said, feeling around in his other pocket until he felt the lien cards. He wore a red long sleeve shirt and matching jeans, his black cap pulled down to cover his eyes from people as he entered the house. What resided on the ground floor was simply a desk and to the left of it stairs leading upstairs with elaborate rugs and paintings dotting the wooden ground and walls. To the right of the desk were to burly men with weapons standing in front of a door and looking around. Aero looked around at the paintings on the wooden walls and the fireplace to the right that had two chairs and a small table in front of it. In one of the chairs sat a man reading on his Scroll, wearing a bowler hat that had orange hair peeking out from under it, a white coat, black slacks and boots and had a cane resting against his chair. Aero looked him over, trying to remember where he had seen him, yet he also noticed one of the two beautiful women behind the desk staring at him, her dark skin and eyes drawing him to her and ignoring the man.

"Good evening sir," she said in a low, sultry tone, "May I see your ID? You seem a tad young."

"Of course beautiful," Aero said with a grin as he pulled out the fake ID and gave it to her. She was wearing a simple green, low cut dress that went to her knees and accentuated her curves and cleavage, something Aero took notice of, staring intently. She caught him looking, making him look away in embarrassment, the young woman giggling at his reaction.

"It's fine sir. Besides, I like it when patrons look," she said, causing Aero to turn red and make her giggle more, "Well, your ID checks out Mr. Alonso. How may I help you this evening?"

"Uh… I'm actually new to this stuff… Buddy of mine suggested this place to me."

"Oh perfect, I'll help you out. Follow me," she said, dragging her finger and her nail across the top of his hand, sending him pleasurable shivers. He followed her up to the second floor, where Aero could hear beds shaking, moaning and screaming. The hallway was barely lit and was painted in a dark red while the doors were stark white.

"What kind of girl do you prefer?"

"Honestly, someone like you," Aero replied, a sly grin on his face.

"Oh boy," she said with a seductive grin that was sending waves of pleasure through Aero, "But I think all the rooms on this floor are taken."

"Sounds like it. Two quick questions: how much and who was the gentleman in the lobby?" he asked as they went up to the third floor.

"For me it's 700. And that man… well, I can't really say."

"Is he who I believe he is?"

"Yes. He likes to come here from time to time."

"Wasn't he in jail?"

"He escaped and is trying to rende… I think I've said too much."

"He has a big mouth, as do you it seems," Aero said as they entered the third floor, which looked identical to the second.

"Oh he does and you're about to see how big mine is," the woman said, Aero picturing her with a grin as she opened a door. It was a small room with a nightstand and a twin-sized bed, a wooden floor and dark green painted walls.

"I never got your name," Aero said as she fixed small wrinkles on the bed.

"Wow, you actually want to know my name, kinda rare among our customers. It's Rachel," she said as Aero walked behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck slowly.

"Well Rachel… Sorry," he said as he put a hand over her mouth and an arm around her neck. She gasped and struggled, trying to kick Aero, who shook his head and struggled slightly to maintain his hold.

"You're not dying, just getting knocked out, don't worry," he said into her ear. She kept struggling until a minute later, when darkness encased her vision. Aero checked her pulse, nodded to himself and moved her to the bed, where he laid her down and pulled the sheets over her to keep her warm.

"Seb I'm in. Fun fact: Torchwick is here as well."

"Interesting. Doesn't matter though, we have no qualm with him and vice versa."

"True that. Okay, which vent?"

"Exit the room and head ten feet to the right," Sebastian instructed. Aero first put a 500 lien card on the nightstand for Rachel then left the room and found the vent. He took out his throwing knife and undid the screws holding the vent cover. He slid it to the side, entered the small vent and pulled it back over, trying to make it seem as if it had not been disturbed. Aero quickly threw over-top of his clothing his black pants and shirt along with face mask. He holstered a pistol and two throwing knives, his sword and collapsible baton.

"Damn this is a tight fit."

"Ha, that's what she said."

"Who's fucking immature now?" Aero asked with a grin.

"Shut the hell up, alright? You need to slide down the vent slowly, don't make too much noise."

"I'll do my best," Aero said as he slid himself forward slowly until he felt his feet dangle. He pushed them against the vent and lowered his body down until he pushed his hands against the sides of the vent. Slowly and carefully, Aero lowered himself down, using the pressure on the sides of the vent to slide quietly. Before he reached the bottom however, Aero stopped and gazed through a vent into a room.

Aero was mesmerized by the scene unfolding in the bedroom: it was one of the rooms on the second floor and Aero couldn't take his eyes off the woman. She was fair skinned, had brown hair that went to her shoulders and green eyes that fluttered open and shut. She was moaning constantly, grabbing her small breasts and squeezing them as the man underneath her thrust up and into her, eliciting grunts and moans from himself. Aero watched for a minute before his radio came to life.

"Aero? The hell is going on, are you stuck?" Sebastian said as Aero kept watching, his mind not thinking of the mission at all. In his mind, he was the man on the bottom, enjoying the view, especially the woman's ass, picturing it being round and smacking it, getting more moans from her as she egged him on.

"AERO!" Sebastian yelled, blasting the young assassin's ear and shaking him from his pleasurable vision.

"The fuck Seb?"

"Well you're not moving. Are you okay?"

"Uh… yeah, sorry, got distracted."

"You were watching two people fuck weren't you?"

"And if I was?" Aero replied as he made his way down slowly.

"Focus. Now, at the bottom should be a vent cover, you're gonna have to kick it out, okay?"

"Got it," Aero said as he finally reached the bottom of the shaft. Luckily Aero was able to brace himself against the back of the shaft and kicked twice to knock the cover off. He quickly crawled out and drew his pistol but realized the area he was in was completely dark. He clicked his tongue and closed his eyes, getting back an image to help him. To his left was stairs and a door, yet in front of him were six large rooms with signs on them.

"Seb, where is he?"

"No clue."

"The hell you mean no clue?"

"As in I have no idea."

"The guy use a credit card?"

"He might have… oh, good idea mate," Sebastian said, typing on the laptop in front of him and getting access to the brothel's computers.

"Says here he paid to dominate… okay then, disturbing. Find that door," he said as Aero felt along the walls, trying to find doors.

"Quick heads up: he paid for a faunus, they charge 20 lien extra," Sebastian informed Aero, who nodded to himself. Aero leaned against a wall and closed his eyes, focusing on listening to try and determine what room housed the target. He listened for a minute until he finally heard what he needed to.

"Come here you little bitch!" he heard in the room across from him. He heard a female scream, causing Aero to launch into action. He kicked near the doorknob and lock, breaking it down easily as he held a knife in his hand. He saw an elder, naked man in his 50's turn with a hand on the girl's hair. Aero quickly threw his knife, hitting the target in his throat, his hands immediately going for the knife plunged in him as Aero grabbed the girl. She was naked as well, her pale skin reflecting in the soft light, her orange hair ragged, her dog ears matching the rough look as the man took the knife out and gurgled on his own blood, staining his white skin. Aero kneeled and brought one of his hidden blades into the man's heart, his eyes going wide as blood sprayed on Aero from the neck wound. He turned back to the terrified woman, who looked Aero over.

"Here," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the other 500 lien card, "Just get out of here. Go back to your family, friends, whatever, this isn't a place for you."

She nodded, said her thanks and took off, not before screaming again. Aero followed out the door to the two guards, who looked at him in anger.

"Shit."

"No unnecessary casualties Aero," Sebastian said. Aero cursed to himself as he drew his baton and charged at the two guards. They drew their swords and swung at Aero, who dodged both strikes and hit one on his ear. The man screamed in pain as Aero tripped him then brought the baton on his head, knocking him out as the other thrusted with his sword. Aero side-stepped it and hit the man in the back of his knee, bringing him down. He then put the baton around his neck and wrenched it tight, choking him until he fell unconscious. Satisfied with his work, Aero took off up the stairs in time to see the young girl, wearing a robe, leave. Two people at the desk looked at him in horror as he took off, leaving the brothel and returning to the car where Sebastian waited.

"Nicely done Aero," Sebastian said, driving off as the first police cars arrived.

"I need to head back home, I have work in a few hours."

"You need to change."

"My mom has already left for work, I'll be fine," he replied as Sebastian parked the car near the apartment.

"You should just quit the job you know: I told you you'll get paid for each mission."

"Some day soon Seb, just not now. Catch you later," Aero said, tapping the top of the car as he looked at the fire escape. He climbed up it as the sun began to peek over Atlas, jumping into the apartment and slipping on a shoe that was left near the window. He groaned and looked forward, only to see a familiar pair of shoes. He looked up, following the legs all the way to his mother's distressed, horrified and angry face.

"Hi mom," Aero said sheepishly.

* * *

 **Oh snaps! Joking, anyway, first time writing a sex scene even though it was only a paragraph long. Yeah, next Monday is gonna be a lot of fun. Hope you guys have enjoyed so far and I'll see you on Monday.**


	7. Not So Secret Anymore

**Just wanna say beforehand: I am totally shocked and saddened at Satoru Iwata's passing. Being a gamer, I always heard his name and he always seemed like a sweet man and president that really cared about the products being put out. Damn shame he passed away at 55. Rest in peace Mr. Iwata.**

 **Also, wanna point something out right quick: Aero is inbetween the ages of team RWBY. By that I mean he's a year older then Ruby but a year younger then Blake, Weiss and Yang. So, when he's 16, Ruby is 15 and the other three are 17.**

* * *

Chapter 7

"Aero… what the… are you just getting in?!" Alexis Kalo yelled as Aero quickly stood up, something he quickly realized he shouldn't have done as she took a step back.

"Why do you have all that blood on you? Did you get in a fight?"

"Ah shit," he said, looking at the blood on his hands, "Wait, I thought you worked?"

"I do and language! You weren't in your bed so I knew you were out... Now answer me!"

"Yeah, you could call it a fight."

"Why are you wearing all black?"

"It's what we wear in the fight club," Aero lied, trying to keep a straight face.

"Be honest with me right now Aero Lewis Kalo!"

"Okay mom, calm down," he said, trying to pat her hand, yet she wrenched away, hurting Aero as he pulled his face mask down.

"Is this what you've been doing the past two years?"

"Yeah. After Marcus died."

"You think he would want to see you like this?"

"Don't even start that bullshit with me mom."

"Lang-"

"I get it!" Aero yelled back, shocking himself and his mother as he sighed and looked down. In the awkward silence, his mother got to fully observe his uniform, spotting things she hadn't seen at first.

"Is that a gun? Are those knives? The hell do you have a rod for?" she asked in astonishment and fear as she looked over Aero, "What happened to my son?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, hurt by her last question.

"I just… what have you been doing Aero?" she asked, another sigh escaping Aero as he shook his head and looked her in her eyes.

"I'm an assassin mom."

"An assas-!" she began to yell until Aero covered her mouth. She struggled, her eyes open and in shock, but Aero held his hand over her mouth.

"Mom, you need to be quiet!" he softly yelled at her, making sure his voice didn't create an echo, "And I'm not moving my hand until you promise me you will!"

She looked at him in anger and nodded her head slowly, Aero moving his hand away. She instantly slapped him across the face. Aero recoiled and held a hand to his now red cheek, tears coming to his eyes as he looked at his mother, tears coming to her eyes as well. The silence seemed to last ages as Aero finally tried to move past his mother, who stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"You get out of this damn apartment right now. You are no son of mine," she said through gritted teeth.

"Mom-"

"Don't even."

"You can't say a word about me being an assassin or they'll come kill you and anyone you told."

"Who? Your assassin buddies?"

"Yeah," Aero said, looking down as she shook her head, a tear going down her cheek.

"Fine. I'll just tell them that my son passed away and I had a private ceremony," she said, breaking down at the last words and crumbling to the ground. Aero watched her, looked away and walked to his room, grabbing his clothing and pulling out his scroll to make a call, trying to remain calm.

"Hey bud," Sebastian answered, "Wha-"

"Get to my apartment right now. No questions," Aero replied, ending the call and getting the rest of his clothing and other knick-knacks he had before changing into casual clothing. Soon enough, his mother crying on the couch, Aero heard a knock on the door and let Sebastian in the apartment, who looked at his mother.

"Ah hell," Sebastian said to himself as he went to Alexis and sat next to her, "Ms. Kalo, I'm so-"

"L-leave me t-the f-fuck alone," she said softly, causing Sebastian to get up slowly and walk to Aero's room. He was finishing packing up, tears blurring his vision as Sebastian entered the room. Sebastian looked at Aero, feeling horrible for his friend and embraced him in a hug, trying to comfort him. Aero returned it, grabbed the suitcase and walked out the room, looking at his mother one last time. He and Sebastian then left, throwing his stuff in the car and taking off down the road until Aero told him to go to the diner. Sebastian did so without a word and parked the car, allowing Aero to run in.

"Aero!" Bobby yelled from behind the counter as Aero entered the diner, "You're early lad. What is it?"

"I… uh… look Bobby-"

"You're leaving aren't ya?" he asked. Aero looked up at him and nodded his head slowly.

"I'm moving to Mistral," Aero lied as he gave Bobby the apron's he had been given two years ago.

"Oh, sounds like a lot of fun. How come?"

"My mom got a position as an assistant for a real estate broker."

"Very nice," Bobby said with a smile as he leaned over the counter and gripped Aero's shoulder gently, "Go out there and be you Aero. Be who you want to be and have fun. I'll find someone to help me, don't worry. Thank you for your help these past two years."

"Thank you for letting me help and giving me hope," Aero said with a smile that Bobby returned as they shook hands. Aero left and returned to the car, Sebastian looking at him as he put the car in reverse.

"I take it you'll be at the Guild permanently?"

"Yeah."

"It'll be okay Aero," Sebastian said as he drove on. Soon enough they were at the old warehouse across from the forest. Sebastian entered it and parked the car in the middle of the empty building. The floor descended slowly and rotated, spinning the car 180 degrees to face a dark tunnel. Sebastian hit the gas and drove on until he parked the car at a small parking area that had different types of cars. There, he and Aero took the stuff out of the car and walked to the entrance, which had two guards positioned in front it, who let them in. They entered the ground floor of the guild and made their way to the second floor, stopping in front of Sebastian's door.

"Well, since there are no open rooms right now, I guess you'll bunk with me. If you want to, of course."

"Sounds great Sebastian," Aero said, a smile tracing on his lips as Sebastian opened the door. It was painted in a bright blue and had an overhead fan that had a light to illuminate the room. The room had two beds, each having the back and one side of the bed against the walls. One bed had no sheets and another with green sheets and a white blanket over top of it. Both had nightstands, shelving and dressers and a single bathroom that had a shower and toilet, which was painted in a light red. The bathroom had white tiling, matching the bedroom floor. Aero looked around and smiled at it, turning to Sebastian with a look of confusion on his face.

"Why is there already a second bed?"

"Oh, every room has two beds in it. It helps with the constantly fluctuating population here at headquarters. Everyone has a roommate at one time. I got a bit of an advantage because I didn't have a roommate until today."

"Sorry for breaking the streak," Aero said, hauling his luggage onto the bed and taking his clothing out. Sebastian walked over to him and helped him organize everything, even getting sheets to make his bed.

"Trust me mate, you're breaking a bad streak," Sebastian said, trying to cheer his friend up. Aero nodded, appreciating what Sebastian was trying to do and crashed on his new bed, which he sprawled out onto, opening a book as Sebastian looked over something on his scroll.

"Oh yeah, I got you something for a successful first mission," Sebastian said, reaching into the nightstand to his right. He picked it up and threw it to Aero, who easily caught the bottle and looked it over, grinning at the bottle.

"Blue hair dye?"

"Well, your streak is dulling out, thought you could use it. Ditch it and dye your entire head blue."

"Well with my black hair it'll come out dark blue."

"Still sounds pretty cool in my opinion."

"Good point," Aero said, reading instructions on the bottle as Sebastian laid his head on a pillow and relaxed. The two were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"It's unlocked!" Sebastian yelled. The door opened to a man in his early 30's wearing black slacks and a green long sleeve shirt. His tan skinned contrasted heavily against his hair, which fell to his shoulders and was bleached white while his black eyes stared at the two.

"Good to see you Sebastian. Pleasure is all mine Aero," he said as Aero got off his bed and walked to the man, who stood six inches over Aero. The two shook hands, his other hand grasping a manila folder, as Sebastian looked at the man and shook his head.

"Magnis. The hell are you doing here?"

"Delivering a couple of things," he said in a husky tone.

"Really? When did you become a messenger?" Sebastian said with a chuckle as he got up and stood next to Aero, "Magnis is one of the top five assassins and has been here for thirteen years."

"Oh shit," Aero said, turning back to the man who nodded his head.

"I am and no, I'm not a messenger. I was coming to see you Sebastian however Aero's presence allows me to kill two birds with one stone."

"Convenient. What's up?"

"Well, first things first, test results," Magnis said, handing the manila folder he held to Sebastian. He grasped it and opened it swiftly, looking it over and breathing in relief.

"What's up Seb?"

"You and I are officially a team!" Sebastian exclaimed. He and Aero cheered and high-fived, Magnis chuckling at the two of them as Aero looked over the sheet.

"Wait wait wait… Why am I only 43rd on the board but Lila is 38th?"

"Well Aero, don't get caught next time," Magnis said, Aero sighing and nodding as he handed the paper back to Sebastian, "Anyway, you have a visitor on the fourth floor Aero. I think you should go and see them immediately."

"Thank you Magnis," Aero said. Magnis turned and left the two celebrating but also nervous.

"Who could want to have a chat with you?" Sebastian asked as they left the room and walked upstairs.

"Hell if I know," Aero said as they made it to the fourth floor. The two turned around and looked until Sebastian nudged Aero's arm and pointed.

"Dude… isn't that…"

"No way," Aero said, walking toward the man sitting at a table. He had red and brown windswept hair and what appeared to be horns poking out from underneath his hair. His pale skin matched the mask that covered his eyes, which was white with slits and red markings on it. His black trenchcoat also had red and white designs, covering a red shirt, altogether complimenting black pants, shoes and gloves with more red symbols on them. Aero approached him and sat down across from him, taking in the figure he had only ever heard about on the news

"Adam Taurus?"

"Aero Kalo?" he asked in a low, authoritative voice.

"Yeah."

"Good. I heard your first mission went well. The White Fang could use a faunus assassin."

"Uh, am I allowed-"

"Yes you can Aero," Sebastian said, coming up behind Aero and crossing his arms, "Pleasure is all mine Mr. Taurus."

"Same."

"Anyway, yeah you can for others. We contract you out: you do missions, the guild gets paid. It's one of the many ways we earn money."

"Perfect. I've heard you want to help your kind. The White Fang could use you to start getting at the big targets. What do you say?" he asked. Aero sat there and thought, never thinking he would have the chance to help the White Fang.

"How long would Aero have to think on it?"

"Why?"

"Well, to be frank Mr. Taurus, he's had a rough day and-"

"And you speak for him?" Adam asked, cutting him off. Sebastian looked at him then held up his hands, taking a step back.

"I've already talked to your leaders and we have a plan for you a year from now. I've seen your work but I believe you still need more training. After that, I won't have a problem giving you a mission," Adam said as Aero ran a hand through his hair then looked at Adam.

"I'm in," Aero said, sticking his hand out and shaking hands with one of the top members of the White Fang.

"Great to have you on board Aero. As I said, you'll get your first mission from us in a year, when you are better experienced. Until then, good luck," Adam said, getting up and walking downstairs to the first floor, allowing Sebastian to sit next to Aero.

"You sure about this?"

"If it means taking out people who are against faunus', why not Seb?"

"True, but you do know who he's been fighting lately, right?"

"No, who?"

"Hunters."

"Ah shit, why didn't you say anything?!" Aero exclaimed as Sebastian shrugged as an answer.

* * *

The sand whipped around seventeen-year old Aero, who was wearing tan clothing, including a tan shawl that had a hood, helping cover his eyes and dark blue hair. In the past year he had gone on multiple missions and had trained almost every day, fine-tuning his fighting style and skills. Now, he was walking in the desert, looking for any signs of the whereabouts of his target, losing hope he would find him on his first mission for the White Fang. However his luck turned when he spotted a decaying lizard Grimm that was four feet long and had its head bludgeoned. The assassin looked up and spotted another, moving quickly as to not lose the trail.

"Got something Aero?"

"Yeah, a trail of Grimm," he replied as he heard fighting in the distance. He ran towards the fight and saw his target along with his teammates. One was using a spear, the other daggers, another a sword and his target a mace. Team CRDL were surrounded by Grimm yet were handling themselves well, fighting them back no problem.

"Sebastian, I found them."

"Good, ready to finish it?"

"I… I don't think I can man."

"Just do your best Aero," Sebastian said. He was sitting in a floating Bullhead that was cloaked a mile away from Aero. Aero sighed and readied himself as he bid his time and waited until only two Grimm remained. It was then he made his way down the dune, sprinting at the one with the daggers, focused and determined. Aero charged at Russell, who turned in time to see him slam his shoulder into his chest knocking him down. Dove turned with his sword and swung, Aero easily jumping back to avoid it and drew his baton and sword. He moved in on Dove, blocking a strike and hitting him in the knee, allowing Aero to bring his knee to Dove's nose, breaking it. He screamed in pain as Aero ducked under Sky's halberd, able to predict the move thanks to his hearing, and turned around. Cardin finished the last Grimm and turned to Aero, walking up to Sky as Russell joined the two.

"Who the hell are you?" Cardin asked. Aero simply looked at the three and engaged his hidden blades, a grin crossing Cardin's face.

"Quiet huh? Too bad, this outta be easy," he said as Russell and Sky charged forward. Russell jumped into the air and was met halfway by Aero, the two exchanging blocks and blows until Sky caught Aero with his halberd, launching him into the side of a dune. Aero shook his head and looked up in time to see Sky charging with his weapon. Aero grinned, ducked a slash and thrust and got in close to Sky, using his baton to get a hold around his neck. Sky began to choke and Aero turned him around in time to absorb a blow from Russell, knocking Sky out as Cardin ran forward. Aero used his sword to parry attacks from Russell until Cardin interrupted their fight with a mighty swing from his mace. Aero was launched again and tumbled on the ground, spitting blood and sand from his mouth as Cardin aimed his mace and fired. Aero ran before the explosive blast could hit him, barely avoiding it as the blast kicked up sand.

"Remember, don't kill the other members," Sebastian said as Aero sheathed his sword and drew a pistol and throwing knife. He looked around, listening intently until he heard Russell charge at him again. Aero pivoted and drove the knife into the back of the Hunter's shoulder, who screamed as Aero twisted the blade, took it out and punched him in the wound. The injured Hunter stumbled, turning around in time to see Aero's boot come to his face, knocking him out and leaving Aero with Cardin.

"Seriously, who the hell are you?" he asked as the sand settled, leaving Aero standing there, the hood down, exposing his bat ears to Cardin, "A fucking faunus? Oh come on."

"Problem Cardin? I've heard of what you've done since you started attending Beacon. I don't appreciate it one bit."

"How did you hear about it?"

"I have ears everywhere. I was sent to kill you, but-" Aero began, yet Cardin cut him off with an explosive shot, which kicked up more sand, concealing Aero. He closed his eyes and clicked his tongue, his echolocation showing Cardin looking for him, waiting and aiming. Aero shook his head, moved to the side, aimed his pistol and fired, hitting the back of Cardin's exposed shin. He cried out as Aero charged forward, leapt into the air and brought his fist on Cardin's cheek, knocking him to the ground. He tried to get up and swing his mace, yet Aero ducked it, caught his arm and easily snapped it in two. Cardin screamed out and dropped his mace as Aero pinned his broken arm and aimed his pistol at Cardin's forehead.

"Oh God please! Please don't!"

"I should Cardin, because of how you and your family are. How much you hate faunus' and will do everything to belittle them. You should be the example."

"NO!"

"But," Aero said, holstering his pistol, "I have no right to kill a protector of Remnant, people we should all be grateful towards. You will not die today Cardin but mark my words," he said as he lowered himself so that his face was mere inches from the trembling Hunter, "You hurt, insult or bully another faunus and I will come after you and I will finish the job. Got it?" he asked, Cardin slowly nodding his head as an answer. Aero took pressure off his broken arm, kicked him in the temple to knock him out then picked up his scroll.

"Yeah, hi, I've found four Hunters unconscious at this location. I'm gonna keep this call going so you can track them. All Grimm are dead," he said, dropping the scroll on Cardin's armored chest and walking away, pulling his hood back up to hide from the sun.

"What the hell Aero?! Finish it!"

"I'm not killing a Hunter Seb, you know I would never do that."

"Oh man… the guild is gonna be really pissed at you."

"I know," Aero said as he made his way back to the waiting Bullhead.

* * *

 **See? I told you guys I was gonna incorporate more of the universe eventually. So, things have been rough on my end, I still need to finish 8 and I have no idea if it is the last chapter for this story. I should have it ready by Friday, where you guys will learn if its the last or not. Have a good week guys!**


	8. The Trial

Chapter 8

Aero leaned his head against the cool steel of the Bullhead and closed his eyes, Sebastian eyeing him and shaking his head as he typed on his laptop. Aero knew the trouble he was in and knew he would need all the rest he could get. Sebastian was typing up the after-action report and preparing to both come to Aero's defense and help the attack on him by the Board. Sebastian was also messaging Lila, who just learned what happened.

 _How's he doing?_

 _He's resting because he knows that when he gets back there will be a trial_

 _A trial?!_

 _Yeah, he didn't finish the mission blatantly, he's gone against orders._

 _What side are you on?_

 _Both_

 _Figures. See you guys when you get here_

Sebastian shook his head and looked over his report. He knew Aero and Lila wouldn't understand, but he was in a tough spot too because of his friendship with Aero and his parents being on the Board.

"Let me guess: it's gonna be bad," he heard Aero say.

"Oh yeah."

"And let me guess again: you're gonna be on my side and their side."

"Why say it's a guess?"

"Because I was hoping you would be fully on my side," Aero said, his golden eyes opening and glaring at Sebastian.

"Well Aero, guess what? Not everything works out perfectly. You should've killed Cardin, which I thought you would've considering his stand on your kind," he retorted, his brown eyes returning the glare.

"I already told there was no way I was going to kill him. He's a Hunter and protects Remnant. We need all of them, no matter their stance on certain issues."

"Guess you really don't ca-" was all Sebastian could say as Aero suddenly lunged at him, a short blade in his hand and at Sebastian's throat, the other covering his friend's mouth.

"Don't ever question me about my drive to help my kind Seb. Don't," was all Aero said to him as he moved his hand, sheathed his short blade and returned to his seat. Sebastian looked at him, his breath and pulse quickened at the exchange. He closed his eyes to calm himself as Aero pulled the hood over his eyes and closed them, trying to sleep and prepare for what would happen to him in a day's time.

* * *

The two of them had disembarked from the Bullhead when it returned to the Guild's headquarters and went in separate directions. Aero stopped, exhaled slowly and knocked on the door of the one person he could talk to. The door opened and he was quickly pulled in by his best friend aside from Sebastian.

"The hell happened Aero?" Lila asked, her light-orange eyes showing concern as they stared at her friend.

"I just couldn't do it Lila. I don't understand: why would the White Fang want to kill a Hunter and why would the Guild approve said mission for me?"

"I wish I could tell you Aero," Lila said, rubbing his shoulder. The two of them were sitting on her bed, her roommate out on a mission. Lila had dark green sheets, blankets and pillow covers along with a wooden dresser. She herself was wearing jeans and a green shirt, her hair recently cut short to her shoulders.

"I'm so fucking dead."

"Don't say that."

"Of course I will. Come on Lila," Aero said, sliding off the bed, "You know they are beyond pissed I didn't kill Cardin."

"True, but you did heavily injure him. And you got the message across for the White Fang. You can use that as your defense."

"Yeah, and then Seb will tell them what I did," Aero said, looking down as Lila got off the bed and patted his shoulder.

"What Aero?"

"I may have uh… you know, held one of my short blades to his throat…"

"Aero!"

"What?! He challenged my commitment," Aero said, shaking his head as he looked down at her and sighed. She hugged him tightly and rubbed his back, knowing that this was taking a toll on his mind. Aero returned the hug, holding it for as long as possible until Lila let go and patted his cheek.

"It's okay Aero. You know, this is why you need a girlfriend."

"Don't remind me," Aero said, chuckling at Lila's remark.

"Just saying."

"Yes sis," Aero retorted, earning a pillow to the face from his friend. While the two recognized that their relationship was like brother-sister, Aero had recently been teasing her for the way she acted, something Lila didn't appreciate.

"So, were did Sebastian go?"

"No clue. He said he would be on my defense but also be on the Guild's side. We'll see how it goes."

"Figures. He is under the thumb of this place."

"His parents were assassins. What do you expect?"

"True, but still. He agrees with us but then goes with the Guild on certain things, like trying to pay people off."

"So fucking hypocritical. How would they ever expect Hunters to join?"

"No clue," Lila answered. There was a knock at her door and she walked over to answer it, opening it to three fellow assassins.

"Ah, Lila. Good to see you," the one in the middle said with a husky voice. He stood over six feet tall, had military style black hair, fair skin, looked in his early 30's and was wearing a white, leather trench coat with blue accents that was fully buttoned up and was complimented by his black boots.

"Good to see you too Eli. What brings you here?"

"You know what," he replied as he entered with his fellow assassins and stood across from Aero. To Eli's right was a young woman, a new recruit, in her early 20's and was wearing all black, the same outfit that Aero wore usually on missions, including a hood that almost covered her black eyes. To his left was an older member like Eli who wore black jeans, boots, a tan t-shirt that reflected his skin and was grinning, a glint in his hazel eyes.

"Hey Eli, Saunin, Danielle," Aero said, staring at the three, his shoulders slumping.

"Hello Aero," Eli said, stepping forward and looking down at Aero, "I hate to do this, but you have to come with us."

"I know."

"You're not gonna put up a fight are you?" Danielle asked in a light voice, her arms crossed as she asked the question.

"You know me better."

"Damn, here I was hoping I would get to fight you and kill you," Saunin said with a hint of disappointment, his grin disappearing as Aero walked forward.

"One day Saunin, but I'm sure I'll be killing you, you insane prick," Aero said, patting the assassin's shoulder as he walked out, waited for the group and his best friend to walk in front of and beside him, and continued down the hall. Other members of the Guild had gathered and watched as they walked to the fifth floor, where the Board waited for Aero.

* * *

"Aero Kalo, you are brought here in front of the Board because of your persistence to not fully complete a mission," Varis said. Being the leader of the Guild and one of its founding members, Varis wore robes that matched his status: long and golden with a dark purple outline that reached the ground. Aero, Varis and the entirety of the Guild stood in a large circular room that was painted dark red. Varis and the members of the Board sat in elaborate chairs that were lofted thanks to large pedestals. Aero stood in the center in a pit-like area, standing behind a podium, having to look up at Varis and his fellow assassins who had taken seats around the arena. Close to Aero sat Lila and to his far left stood Sebastian behind his own podium. This large arena held assassin meetings and trials, while the room next door was only for the Board for private meetings.

"I know Master Varis."

"I'm sure you do. Sebastian Damper, you have the floor," Varis said to the young man, who nodded his head and cleared his throat. Sebastian read from his report, detailing the mission, the events of the mission and concluding with Aero's decision not to kill Cardin.

"Is there anything else in the report Mr. Damper?"

"No sir," Sebastian said, earning a curious glance from Aero as his friend had neglected to read about Aero bringing his blade to his friend's neck.

"Aero Kalo, speak in your defense."

"Well, first off, I held a knife to his neck," Aero said, motioning to Sebastian, shocking a few members of the Guild, "However it was out of anger and for that I apologize. Secondly, while I agree that I did not fully complete the mission, I did heavily injure Mr. Winchester and I made my threat very clear and precise, thus I believe he won't do anything to hurt my kind anymore, which was the point of the mission."

"And to but in right quick," Sebastian said, looking at his friend, "I did make a rude comment that triggered Aero holding his short blade to my throat. Aero is also one of the hardest working guys here, constantly training to get better."

"I might add as well," Lila said, nudging Aero aside, "That since his first official mission, Aero has quickly risen to the top 10 on the List. He's only had successful missions."

"Did I ask you two to speak?" Varis said in anger, making Sebastian and Lila look down as the elder man turned to Aero, "Do you have anything else to say in your defense Aero?"

"That I won't fail again and that, to be fair, I was given a mission that many knew I wouldn't be able to fully complete because of my stance on Hunters. I leave the Board to decide my fate."

"Fair enough Mr. Kalo. If that is all, everybody is adjourned until we make our decision," Varis said. Everyone left the large area, including Sebastian, who was stopped by his two friends.

"The hell man."

"Geez, that's the thanks I get for-"

"Why didn't you tell them what I did on the Bullhead?"

"Because I was a dumbass for that comment. And I'm sorry I said it," Sebastian said, holding his hand out. Aero looked at Lila, who smiled at him then at Sebastian. Sebastian looked confused until Aero embraced him in a hug, which soon became three as Lila joined in.

"Don't worry about it Seb," Aero said, letting go and patting his friends back. They were interrupted by a young man who handed Aero a note. Aero read it over and looked at Sebastian and Lila.

"How long will it take them to deliberate?"

"About a day, why?"

"Nico wants to see me."

* * *

Aero walked on the sidewalk in Vale and stopped in front of a small house that was two story's tall and was painted light blue with white trimming. Aero walked up to the white front door and knocked on it gently, standing and waiting nervously until the door opened. In front of him stood his old mentor Nico, who had aged well in the two years they had not seen one another. Nico was wearing a silver shirt and jeans and opened the door for Aero, who was wearing his casual clothing.

"Come in Aero," Nico said, shaking his former student's hand and leading him to his living room, which matched the outside of the house. They both sat on a cream colored couch, sports playing on the nicely sized TV just a few feet away as Nico turned to Aero.

"So, what is this I hear about you getting in trouble?"

"News travels fast huh?" Aero asked, Nico chuckling at his response.

"It always does in the Guild. What happened?"

"I got a mission that went against what I stand for Nico. Couldn't kill the Hunter, but I fucked his shit up, and his teams for that matter."

"You can't let your own personal thoughts get ahead of the Guild Aero."

"Why not Nico? That makes me a person," Aero said, caught off guard by his former mentor's comment.

"You have to put the Guild first Aero. Remember, we are always trying to make sure war does not happen again."

"And I understand that Nico, but killing a Hunter will only hurt the population. What will we do if we keep going after Hunters huh? I can handle one, maybe three Grimm, not much more."

"They're not gonna kill all of them and remember this was a mission for the White Fang-"

"That the Guild approved," Aero said, standing up and looking at his former mentor, "Why did you really want me here?"

"To talk to you about this-"

"The Guild wanted you to," Aero said quietly. Nico went to respond, yet didn't know what to say and instead nodded his head slowly.

"They're afraid you may turn on them."

"Why would I?"

"Because of all this."

"Having a free mind?!" Aero yelled. He quickly apologized and regained his composure, breathing slowly as Nico patted his shoulder.

"They just want to make sure you'll be on their side. That you won't leave like others have in the past for similar reasons," Nico said, gripping his students shoulder and squeezing gently. Aero looked at him and nodded.

"I understand, but I can't give up what makes me who I am. I joined to kill those who hurt my kind and that's it. I will not go and just kill random people or Hunters. I just can't, it's not right," Aero said, a sigh escaping Nico's lips as he nodded his head.

"Be who you want to be Aero. Think how you want to think. What drives you is far different from any other person."

"That's odd advice coming from you Nico," Aero said as Nico looked at him.

"Well, I tried to get you back over to the Guild Aero, but I see that is not going to happen. I see you leaving sometime under your own terms, which the Guild won't mind. For the time being, just be who you want to be," Nico said as Aero looked at him.

"They're going to kill you."

"For not doing my job. But, I figure this is my way of atoning for all of the people I have killed in my life time. I see now, just as you were a couple of years ago, you are a free spirit. Just try and follow the Guild Aero. And I am sorry for everything that happened over the past couple of years, I wish things could've been different."

"Especially the torture stuff," Aero said, the two sharing a laugh as Aero looked at Nico, "I'm sorry it has to end this way."

"I knew it was going too eventually. I would advise you not to come to the funeral, might rile up a few feathers. Now go," Nico said. Aero nodded his head and left the house, walking on the sidewalk and bumping into a stranger.

"Oh I'm so sorry," he said, reaching down for a box he had knocked off her hip. The young woman had brown hair and matching bunny ears and eyes. Her brown colors went to her combat uniform that were contrasted by her pale skin.

"It's okay," she said as she took the box from Aero and waved goodbye. Aero smiled and watched a figure on a nearby rooftop move to Nico's house. Aero sighed and kept walking, knowing that another friend was dead, but given more confidence than ever to keep going down his own path.

* * *

Aero returned to the Guild ready for the Board's judgement. He had told Lila and Sebastian what had happened and while Lila was shocked Sebastian knew such a thing would sadly happen. The three re-entered the Arena where the waiting Board eyed them as they retook their positions. Varis stood and looked directly at Aero as the crowd went silent.

"Aero Kalo, we have deliberated, argued and talked for over a day. We find that your actions did not go against the Guild," he began, Aero nodding his head as Lila patted his back, "However, you are now under a five year probation. If at any time you deviate from even the smallest of rules, you will face a severe punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Master Varis."

"Very good. Dismissed," Varis said. Sebastian and Lila comforted Aero, who was smiling and breathing heavily.

"Man my heart stopped."

"So did ours dumbass," Lila said, the three laughing as Aero looked at Sebastian.

"I have a question."

"Hopefully I have an answer."

"Can I get my own apartment in Mistral?"

"Oh yeah, the Guild doesn't mind members having their own places. Really, HQ is for the new guys and those that just like being here all the time. You have 15,000 lien-"

"15,000?!" Aero and Lila exclaimed as they walked downstairs to the second floor.

"Both of you do for your missions. So you could afford a place in Mistral. Hell, I may tag along."

"I will, that's for sure," Lila said as Aero looked at the two of them and smiled.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go lay down. Lila, find some nice furniture. Seb, find a nice little apartment in Mistral. I think it's time we just went out on our own for a little while. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Lila said as she went into her room. Aero and Sebastian went into their room and Sebastian got on his bed, opening his laptop and going to a realtor website. Aero was about to do the same but stopped and looked at the small gift on his bed.

"Uh…?"

"From me to you as an apology and because I thought you would like them," Sebastian said with a smile while staring at the computer screen. Aero opened the small box and grinned as he looked at the gift. They were fingerless black leather gloves with a zipper near the wrist on the side with a thin, off-set vertical line of brown leather going up to the knuckles. The brown leather also extended horizontally with four lines and small rivets on the knuckles and corners of the brown leather.

"Damn those are nice. Thank you Sebastian," Aero said as he hugged his friend.

"Anytime."

"Don't I owe you something?"

"Oh I got a list of things you owe me," Sebastian replied, the two sharing a hearty laughter. Aero went and laid on his bed, happy for how things had transpired sans what happened to Nico. Now all he and his friends had to do was wait and get ready to go out on their own, together.

* * *

 **One more chapter! Hope you guys have enjoyed so far! Anyway, yeah, Chapter 9 will do it then I'll take a week to properly prepare Renegade, man I can't wait for you guys to read it! Anyway, 9 will be on Wednesday, so I'll see you then!**


	9. One Down, Twelve to Go

**Hey guys, so, I had to make a quick amendment to the story because I messed up the timeline a bit. I meant to put that RWBY had beaten Cinder and her squad two years ago instead of a few months ago, so, again, my fault on that.**

* * *

Chapter 9

23-year old Aero Kalo breathed in the cold air, closing his eyes and enjoying the silence that falling snow always brought. It was in the mid-afternoon in Atlas and Aero was heading to a target that was enjoying a snowy vacation in the kingdom. He sighed to himself and continued to walk along on the snow-encrusted sidewalk, his black cadet hat showing its age but still covering his eyes, bat ears and recently dyed dark blue hair. Luckily for him, he also wore black ear muffs, a red jacket with two breast pockets, his fingerless leather gloves, jeans and black boots to keep himself warm. His hands were in his coat pockets as he walked slowly, carefully trying to make sure none of the equipment he had on underneath fell out.

In the six years since the incident with Cardin and his team, Aero had taken over as the number one assassin on the List, giving him an unlimited number of saves to use and more time off recently. Only three missions in the past years had ended in failure but he made up for it with his vigorous training. Lila herself had risen to the fourth rank, dropping only recently because of a mission gone bad and she had stricken up a relationship with her handler Vincent. Sebastian was still looking out for Aero and in the last couple of years he had become more critical of the Guild like Aero and Lila, however he kept talking of how different things would be if he ran it.

Aero now carried standard gear for each mission: his sword, baton, two short blades, two pistols and four throwing knives. Aero had become a master with each weapon and in hand-to-hand, making him one of the deadliest members of the Guild. He couldn't help but smile at himself, thinking of how much he had changed in the nine years since he had joined the Guild. However, that line of thought was disturbed by someone bumping into him.

"Well I'll be damned. Aero Kalo," Magnis said, looking the young assassin over and smiling to himself, "What brings you here? Thought you would be in Mistral with your buddies."

"Here on a mission," Aero said, taking in the older assassin, who now stood only five inches over Aero because of Aero's tiny growth spurt. He was wearing a green coat and white pants that matched his hair.

"Oh?"

"Aye. A race car driver of all people. For some odd reason, the Guild thinks that a man like him could be using his money to plump up stocks and then sell quickly, trying to and succeeding in crashing weapon manufacturers in Vale and Mistral for unknown reasons."

"The Guild thinks he could be?"

"Their evidence is a bit shaky."

"Just injure him like Cardin," Magnis replied, Aero rolling his eyes at the comment.

"Yeah, and put myself back in that predicament? I'm good. What brings you to Atlas? Thought you were taking time off?"

"I am, I'm buying a gift for a friend."

"Aw, you shouldn't have Magnis," Aero retorted, laughing at his own joke as Magnis sighed.

"One day Aero, I'm gonna hit you really hard."

"We'll see old man," Aero said with a grin, Magnis snorting at Aero's remark.

"I must be going. I'll see you around Aero."

"Same to you Magnis," Aero said with a nod as the two walked by one another, continuing on their ways. After a bus ride, Aero made his way to a lodge that sat at the base of one of the many mountains in Atlas. He walked up a stone path, grabbed a stone and threw it in his pocket as he walked to inside and to the front desk.

"Hi, is Mr. Elliot Manor in yet? I'm a friend of his," Aero said to the desk attendant, who looked at Aero skeptically.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't give you that information seeing as Mr. Manor didn't tell us he was expecting a friend," he said as Aero nodded his head.

"Fair enough, may I wait for my party in here? It's damn cold outside," Aero said. The desk attendant allowed him to and Aero took a seat on a couch in front of a large fireplace. The entire lodge was wood, giving a rustic feel to it, with large columns, dead animal heads and paintings of the local area giving it a home-style vibe. Aero made sure to keep his eyes on the stairs and eventually spotted his target. Elliot Manor had been racing for over twenty years and it showed in his hair, which had spots of grey. He and two burly men with him wore big blue jackets and tight grey pants. They also wore goggles and gloves and were chatting amongst each other as they walked to the large common area, were a large fire pit was lit and other guests were sitting around, chatting and drinking warm beverages.

Aero waited until the man at the desk was busy with a guest and made his way past them and to the back of the lodge, still keeping an eye on his target. Elliot stayed there with his two bodyguards, having a long chat with them until they made their way back upstairs to the third floor. Aero moved in behind them and slowed his pace as Manor opened the door to his room. After he entered, his two guards entered behind them, with Aero entering right behind them.

"Man, people can be so rude nowadays, not waiting to be invited in," Aero said, making the three turn around to him.

"Oh God Aero," Sebastian said, Aero's radio coming to life for the first time today as Sebastian sat back in his chair in the apartment he shared with Aero and Lila back in Mistral, "Don't start showboating and finish the three of them."

Aero grinned as one of the guards swung, his fist caught by Aero, who easily snapped his wrist as the other charged. He collided with Aero and pinned him to the wall as the other guard wailed in pain, Elliot Manor backing away from the scene as Aero engaged one of his hidden blades and dug it into the back of the man who pinned him. He let go, trying to grab his wound until Aero easily snapped his neck, moved the other guard with his short blade in hand and slashed his neck open. He fell down and Elliot Manor backed into a chair, tripping as Aero walked over to him, his face showing no expression as Elliot's showed fear.

"W-who are you?" he asked. The assassin pressed his foot down on his targets arm, stopping his movement as he sheathed his short blade.

"A faunus part of an organization that wants you dead."

"What?! Why?!"

"You're the one crashing companies in Vale and Mistral jackass," Aero said as he engaged both his hidden blades.

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

"B-but… wait, please, h-hear me out," he said, pleading for his life. Aero looked down at him and removed his foot from Elliot's arm, allowing him to stand up.

"Well, I am curious-"

"Aero, don't do this."

"Quiet. Are you really doing these things Mr. Manor?"

"Who did you tell to be quiet?" Manor asked. Aero sighed and threw a knife into his target's shoulder, who screamed as Aero ran to him and put a hand over his mouth.

"No yelling, just talking, got it?" he asked, Elliot nodding his head in response. Aero removed the blade, the elder man covered the shoulder wound with his hand and looked at the assassin.

"Are you from Atlas?" he began quietly, Aero nodding in response, "You were born after the war, right?"

"Yeah."

"I witnessed a lot of it," Elliot Manor began, "Mainly because the season got cancelled because of it. At the time, Atlas was considered the biggest kingdom in all of Remnant. Hailing from here, I wanted us to win… but we didn't. Vale, Mistral and Patch overpowered us and in the end defeated us. All over the right to free speech and shit like that! I watched this kingdom go from being the top to rebuilding itself to the power it is today thanks to men like Ironwood. I thought I would help."

"By taking out their weapon manufacturers, Vale and Mistral would have to issue defense contracts… and the most logical kingdom…"

"Atlas of course," Elliot said, looking Aero over, "I want the old glory of Atlas to return, don't you?"

"If it means plunging Remnant into another war, no," Aero said as Manor shook his head.

"Stupid kid… Atlas will never be treated the same."

"Oh it will, without your help," Aero said, who moved in and shoved his blades into Manor's body, who gasped at the sudden move. Aero removed the blades, took out the stone from the path and hit him in the head once with it.

"Seb, he's dead. Used a stone to finish him."

"Perfect, I'll make sure they make it look like he had a bad skiing accident. Good job Aero, you need to report back to Mistral."

"What's up?"

"You are going to have a guest in a day."

* * *

Aero walked up the flight of stairs to the second floor, took a key out and slid it into the lock of the door of 21B. He opened the door and breathed in the familiar smell of cooking, smiling to himself as he set a bag down on a recliner in the living room.

"Honey's I'm home!" he called out, hearing laughter and a sigh as Lila and Sebastian came to greet their friend from his mission.

"Hi Aero," Sebastian said with a smile as Lila and Aero shared a hug.

"Hey buddy," she said as she looked at his bag on the recliner, "The hell did I tell you about that?"

"Sorry mom, I forgot," Aero said, earning a smack to his shoulder. He shook his head as he retrieved his bag and went into his room. The two bedrooms in the apartment were right next to each other and opened to the living room. Sebastian and Aero shared a room, which was almost the same from the Guild HQ, except it was painted in a dark brown. Lila had the same room as well next door but her room was painted in a sky blue color. He rejoined them in the moderately sized kitchen but stopped at who was sitting at the table.

"Well I'll be damned," Aero said, his two friends watching him, "Six years and you decide to come back. What brings you to me and my friends humble abode Mr. Taurus?" Aero asked the leader of the White Fang. In the six years since their last meeting, Adam had risen the ranks of the White Fang and had assumed leadership, however much of his base was lost thanks to team RWBY, who had defeated Cinder, Roman and their associates two years ago. Adam wore the same ensemble but now spotted a scar that ran horizontally across his left cheek thanks to Sun Wukong.

"What brings me here is quite simple: I need your skill set again Aero Kalo."

"No Hunters," Aero said as he sat across from Adam.

"I don't under-"

"You know, I really shouldn't be helping you considering you were linked to seven well known criminals. For shame Adam," Aero said, a smile gracing his lips. Lila chuckled and Sebastian watched the exchange intently as Adam sighed.

"I was hoping they could help bring an-"

"Well it failed, so what do you have for me?" Aero interrupted, not wanting to hear another word from Adam after not hearing from him for so long.

"Twelve targets, two months," Adam said as he took out a stack of papers from a briefcase he had by his feet and slid them over to Aero, who was joined by Sebastian, "I have men in with all of them. I'm pulling them out soon. That information will be good for a short window, which is your time to strike. Every target has had something to do with faunus oppression, slavery or extinction. Take them out, got it?" Adam said. Aero looked up at him and nodded his head.

"Sounds good," Aero said. Adam Taurus nodded his head, got up from the table and left, allowing the three to look over the documents.

"Want me to help out with any of these?" Lila asked.

"Nah, me and Seb got this, right mate?"

"It's gonna be hard, but I think we can handle it, just give me a day or two to set up basic plans."

"Sounds good," Aero said as he sat back in his chair with a smile on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" Lila asked as she flipped some meat in a pan.

"I feel good about these missions, like they're gonna change us for the better," he replied, ready to tackle the first of the twelve missions. He excused himself from the table and went to his room, where he opened his laptop and clicked over to a live video feed. The feed showed a stairwell and a door, were a dress was hung with flowers at the bottom. Up the stairs came a woman in her early 40's, wearing mining gear and sighing to herself. Her tired expression changed when she saw the dress and flowers. She got excited, took the dress and flowers and ran inside her apartment. A few minutes later she stepped out in a coat that covered the dress, her Scroll held up to her ear, talking ecstatically to a friend and telling her to meet at a bar.

"Have fun mom," Aero said, his vision blurring and a small smile coming across his lips as Sebastian entered the room.

"Ready to get started?" he asked as Aero rubbed his golden eyes and looked at his friend with a look of determination.

"Ready."

* * *

 **And that's it! Thanks so much for reading this prologue guys, it is greatly appreciated as always! I'll be back on August 3rd with the first chapter of Renegade! By the way, I'm not covering all twelve missions, just the last two because they're important. Anyway, have a good week guys and I'll see you guys soon!**


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